Sustainable Dialogues: October 4-6

The third Russian-Dutch museum conference Sustainable Dialogues was held online from 4 to 6 October 2021.

The first conference was held in 2016 at the Amsterdam Hermitage, the second was at the State Hermitage in St. Petersburg in 2017.

Despite the fact that the third conference was held in an online format, it brought together more than fifty experts from Russia and the Netherlands, who presented current museum cases, exchanged experiences, and discussed important museum issues.

Among the key issues of the conference the following topics were discussed: the role of museums in a community building during a pandemic, strategies for museums to operate while the museums’ doors were closed, the contribution of museums to the preservation of the environment, historical, natural and cultural heritage and forms of work with different types of heritage, the possibilities of museums in attracting resources, new milestones in the development of various types and formats of exhibitions. It is also important to emphasize that a seminar for students and young professionals was organized. In addition, within the framework of the conference, great attention was paid to cultural entrepreneurship and its expert assessment.

During the final session, one of the key speakers Afanasy Gnedovsky, a member of the Presidium of ICOM Russia, an independent museum expert, prepared a brief overview of the entire conference. We are glad to share the presentation with you.

The 2021 conference is the result of a collaboration between DutchCulture, the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Moscow, and the Consulate General in St. Petersburg.

Co-producers: Anna Ostrovskaya and Natalia Kopelyanskaya.

With the participation of ICOM Russia and ICOM Netherlands.