Museum for Peace and Harmony in Society

On 18th May 2000, museums all over the world will be celebrating International Museum Day. The theme, "Museums for peace and harmony in society", was chosen by the Advisory Committee, to reflect the United Nations' decision to proclaim the year 2000 "International Year for a Culture of Peace".

The motto of International Museum Day, ever since the initiative was launched by ICOM in 1977, is that "Museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples".

Every year, International Museum Day provides us with an opportunity to demonstrate to the public that museums have an important role to play in society. In the light of this year's theme, Jacques Perot, the President of ICOM, is asking all ICOM members to "do their best to ensure that museums participate even more actively in efforts to promote harmony between communities and help different sections of society to live peacefully side by side".

ICOM News, issue no. 1/2000 presents a number of reflections and accounts of experiences relating to the theme, "Museums for peace and harmony in society". 18th May 2000 will see all manner of events - open days, temporary exhibitions, guided tours, encounters between staff and visitors, and so on. It will also be a global celebration of the museum, and we invite all our members to join the festivities.

International Museum Day receives support from the Réunion des musées nationaux (RMN) and the Direction des musées de France (DMF)