Important Facts For Prelims
International Museum Day
- 19 May 2020
- 3 min read
Why in News
The Ministry of Culture hosted a webinar on “Revitalising Museums and Cultural Spaces” to celebrate the International Museum Day.
- The National e-Governance Division (NeGD) created by the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) provided technical assistance for conducting the Webinar.
Key Points
- The International Museum Day is celebrated every year on 18 May to raise awareness about the fact that “museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples.”
- The International Museum Day 2020 was celebrated with the theme “Museums for Equality: Diversity and Inclusion”.
- International Museum Day was instituted in 1977 by the International Council of Museums (ICOM).
International Council of Museum
- ICOM is the main and only organisation of museums and museum professionals with global scope, committed to promotion and protection of natural and cultural heritage, present and future, tangible and intangible.
- It was created in 1946 and is headquartered in Paris, France. It serves as a network of museum professionals (35,000 members in 137 countries) acting in a wide range of museum- and heritage-related disciplines.
Administration of Museums in India
- Multiple ministries hold charges of various Museums.
- Not all Museums are administered by the Ministry of Culture.
- Some are run without government support by a handful of people under a Board of Trustees.
- The Budget 2020 proposed the setting up of an Indian Institute of Heritage and Conservation with the status of a deemed university under the Ministry of Culture.
- The National Portal and Digital Repository for Indian Museums (under the Ministry of Culture) have been launched for digitisation of the collections of the Museums.
Notable Museums in India
- National Museum, New Delhi (Subordinate Office under the Ministry of Culture)
- National Gallery of Modern Art, Bengaluru
- Victoria Memorial Hall (VMH), Kolkata
- Asiatic Society, Kolkata
- National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), New Delhi
