BAFM INTERNATIONAL NEWS - 1
INTERNATIONAL AREA REP: NORA DUNBAR
WFFM Congresses and General Assemblies
You will read in Sue Hall’s excellent report below on the WFFM Congress held in Genoa about the interesting and stimulating academic programme enjoyed by the 500 delegates attending this Congress. But the WFFM Congresses are not all work and no play! As well as enjoying the magnificence of the Palazzo Ducale for the academic sessions Friends were able to visit many wonderful museums in this historic city; they were hosted and dined in wonderful palazzos; a highlight was to enjoy the special lighting of the buildings lining historic Garibaldi street, a once in a lifetime experience. Friends also enjoyed a lovely afternoon cruise to the enchanting picturesque village of Portofino. So a combination of the academic and social programme made for a memorable Congress.
Attendance at the triennial Congresses is open to all Friends (one does not have to be a member of the WFFM to attend) and as Sue reports it is hoped to hold the 2014 Congress in Berlin in late spring of that year. This is certainly something you should think about and start planning for now.
However before then the WFFM Council and General Assembly will be held in Sao Paulo from 12th-15th April 2012. Brazil is the gateway to Latin America and Sao Paulo is a truly cosmopolitan city. Friends must join the WFFM to attend the General Assembly, but for a subscription of $100 it is a small price to pay to have the opportunity to visit so many exciting places with congenial company. Our hosts in Sao Paulo have put together a very good programme for delegates and companions and once again Council members will meet in the mornings and be able to join in the social programme in the afternoons. Do look at the web site to see details of this meeting.
Report on the World Federation
of Friends
of Museums XIV Congress - Genoa, Italy
18th-22th September 2011
by Sue Hall, BAFM Hon. Secretary
The WFFM Congress held in September in Genoa was an unqualified success. Daniel Ben-Natan, the President, reported that there were around 500 friends from around the world who enjoyed the programme arranged by the Italian Federation of Friends of Museums. The keynote address by Mario Botta centered on architecture and the morning sessions were scholarly presentations on Trends in Museums Architecture, Museums; the power of the images and new technologies, Museums; many identities and Museums; from consciousness to knowledge.
One session was devoted to our ‘Marketplace of Ideas’, during which important matters were discussed which were directly of interest to our members. Carla Comelli, WFFM Honorary President, lead a discussion on interrelationships between the WFFM and member Federations. She gave a brief history of WFFM, which included development of communication and the way to circulate information, ideas and the promotion of the organisation. Promotional brochures and booklets with practical information about associations of friends of museums were produced and most important of all, the publication of the WFFM Code of Ethics in the three official languages.
Through these means of communication WFFM began to be recognised in the world of museums and gave us a better lobbying force within all the different countries represented in the organisation. We represent two and a half million individual Friends, grouped in national federations. She underlined the importance of:
The constant updating of the information in all digital and printed
documents;
The quality of the contents more than their quantity;
The circulation of the information at the right moment;
The importance of choosing the most appropriate people to
accomplish the best communication possible.
Ana Luisa Delclaux (Spain), the Secretary General, spoke about the 2011 Year of Volunteers in Europe. She has developed the website for WFFM, which is kept constantly updated. It is hoped that Wikipedia will collect information about all museums and their collections. She also pointed out that free media exposure is very helpful.
Sofia Speroni, the Vice President of FADAM (Argentina), discussed their strategy for the development of a Federation of Friends, based on the characteristics of the Latin American Museum Association’s scenario. The facts taken into account were:
All the members are individual associations and each represent a
different type of museum;
All members expect something more than just being part of
the organisation in return for their membership;
The Federation needs to have regular communication with all
its members;
The members cannot pay a high membership fee;
The need to raise awareness among children of the value of
the county’s cultural historical and natural heritage and
its preservation for future generations.
The Federation has developed two kinds of workshops, regional meetings and meetings for friends of a similar type of museum. They have developed individual and corporate memberships to have another source of income. FADAM has promoted culture through an annual contest since 1984. More than ten thousand children from elementary schools have participated. The chosen topics were based on the school location, stimulating consciousness of the local cultural, historical and natural heritage. The children have learned that heritage is important regardless of its location. Through the children, awareness among their parents and their role has impacted on their community. Friends’ volunteering activities should be highlighted by their organisations as ‘Cultural Volunteers’ and the media should also be used to highlight Friends’ activities.
Eleni Vassilika, Director of the Egyptian Antiquity Museum in Turin, said that museums play a social role in their community. When their own museum is closed to the public on Mondays, Friends work there in various ways: by cleaning floors and windows; putting information on the data base; placing papyrus and books of the dead on to plexi glass, etc. This work is invaluable.
[Spring 2012] |