Cross Border Museum Collaboration (Opportunities and Challenges)

By: Intan Mardiana

A. Introduction    

Entering globalization era, the transparency of interstates boundary is growth progressively. The world impresses borderless. The current of globalization expand, at the same time, with the informatics technology and internets are growth. The current of information are progressively easy to be accessed, that way also with the information of museums.

The simply in accessing and exchange of museum information can become the opportunity in conducting of cross border museum collaborations. Museum as institution which store, do conservation, and exploit the cultural heritage also have to develop the cross border museum collaborations. The cross border museum collaborations are important to be developed for the progress of the museums, either on national, regional and also international. So, do not waste this good moment in the development of museum collaborations either directly, such as collaboration in exhibition or likewise, indirectly, such as exchange the information of museums or museum collections.  

There are many other opportunities of cross border museum collaborations, such as the Committee on Culture and Information (ASEAN COCI). Referring to the first Meeting of ASEAN COCI held in Manila in October 1978, the objectives of this committee are: to promote effective cooperation in the fields of culture and information for the purpose of enhancing mutual understanding and solidarity among the peoples of ASEAN as well as in furthering regional development; to develop and recommend policies and programmes for regional cooperation in the fields of culture; to information and mass communication, to monitor and coordinate the implementation of approved activities of the Committee, such as creating ad hoc technical or experts group when necessary; to plan execute and review approved activities or projects, formulate, implement and review the approved projects for funding under the Agreement on the Establishment of the ASEAN Cultural Fund; and to initiate and recommend to the appropriate ASEAN authorities cultural and information programmes and projects which require funding by the third countries and/or agencies. All of the objectives of ASEAN COCI can be the opportunities to develop museum collaborations in ASEAN.  

The cultural contiguity of the nations in Asia, such as Malay, China, and India cultures can be opportunity of cross border museum collaboration. These three cultures reciprocally completed each other as Eastern culture. The similarity in the ideas, actions, and material cultures are potential to develop the collaboration in cultural area.  

The other opportunity is the historical relations. For example the history of Indonesia and Singapore could be related by Thomas Stamford Raffles when he took hold of position as a British Lieutenant of Governor in Indonesia and Singapore. He established some museums in Indonesia and also in Singapore, because he really concerned with archaeology, anthropology, and history.   

The cross border museum collaborations also have the some challenges which become the constraint in this development of collaboration. The challenges can emerge from the internal of the museums such as unfavorable management of museums, museums‘ infrastructures which are not adequate, low quality of museums‘ human resources, and access to the location of the museums which are difficult to be reached. Other challenges can come from the external of museums, such as the differences of system, practice and policy of museums, the differences of awareness of the societies about museums, the differences in specialization on museums. For instance, museums in Indonesia tend to be developed in ethnographic and archaeological areas, while museums in Singapore tend to be developed in art area, that is, the differences in human resources (Indonesia has many museums but leak of professional human resources of museum).  

There are still many local governments in Indonesia which have not had yet the attention to the museums in their regions. The development of local museums is the responsibility of the local government. Such cases can become challenges in the development of cross border museum collaborations.

B. Programs of Museum Collaboration

In facing the challenges, hence we need to establish the collaboration programs which refer to the opportunities.

Exchange of museum experts (specialized in conservation; museum exhibition; educator (educationist); etc.). This program will benefit for improving the museum‘s staffs by exchanging their experience in museum works.

Improving and strengthening the capacities of museum professionals in museum. This program will drive the museums in ASEAN to be more professional

Raising awareness and fund-raising campaign. Raising awareness is needed in improving the society appreciation to the museums. Fund-raising will support the museums in their activities

Comparing strategies and sharing knowledge and insights on a world-wide scale. This program is good for improving the museums‘ staffs‘ knowledge, and extending their insights

Training museum professionals in theory and field exercises to enable them to be prepared and respond to disaster. This program is needed by museums‘ staffs, so that they will be accustomed in respond to disasters

Producing handbooks/guidelines on emergency planning; disaster preparedness and response for museum. Collaboration in producing publication on museum. This program will help the museums in publishing their museums to the wider audiences

Joining project on museum exhibitions. This program is very good in braiding friendliness of the museums and the push of the museums to cooperate frequently.   

C. The Role of the Museum Department

The Museum Department has the duty to prepare the formula of policy, standard, norm, criterion, procedure and technical guide and evaluation of museums. The Museum Department carries out the function of execution and preparation of substance the formula of policy in museums; standard formulation, norm, criterion, and procedure in registration, security and regulation, conservancy and treatment, and also presentation and museum collaboration. Moreover, they also hold the function in giving the technical guiding and evaluation in the registration, security and regulation, conservancy and treatment, and also presentation and museum collaboration.  

The existence of autonomous and dynamic museums in Indonesia in the preservation of the cultural values and in the development of nation cultural civilization is the vision of the Museum Department. The Museum Department also has the mission to develop policy in the development of facilitation and management of museums, developing the facilitation to enhance the role of museum as study, education, and recreation facilities.   

The Museum Department, in the relation to the museums, has duty to give the avocation (assistance), to facilitate the human resources, to conduct the museum empowerments and coordination. The Museum Department has important role in the development of museums in Indonesia, so that the Museum Department has to do some strategic steps to support the Museum Department‘s duties. The strategic steps which have to be done by the Museum Department are: (1) Giving the enlightenment to local governments about their responsibility to museums;  (2) Activating the society‘s participation to preserve the existence of museums;   and (3) Motivating the museum organizers to be more understand the function, obligation, and responsibility on preservation, research, education, and service to the enjoyment of the societies.  

The Museum Department is playing a part in increasing the opportunity to conduct cross border museum collaborations; eliminating its challenges, facilitate the collaboration among the museums; improving quality of museum human resources; and compiling the policy of the museum.   

D. The Museum Polices

The museum polices which are created by the Museum Department contain the duty in increasing social awareness to participate in the museum as informal education institution, in order to follow actively in the process of nation‘s education, and also upgrade the quality of museum organizers‘ human resources in order to reach dynamic and autonomous museum.   

The Museum Department has been giving technical guiding and facility the collaborations among the museums, and the other related institutions, nationally and also internationally in the effort to preserve cultural heritages in the museums, such as the collaboration with the Art lab, Australian in the workshop of conservation in Yogyakarta, and the collaboration with Centre Culture France to conduct the workshop of textile conservation in Jakarta.  

Besides in the case of preservation, the Museum Department also gives technical guiding and facility the collaboration in the form of information exchange, exhibition, and human resource development. For example is collaboration with Vietnam Museum of Ethnography in cultural heritage exchange. Collaboration in Indonesian cultural heritage exhibition presentations has been done in national, regional, and international scope. Follow the example of the collaboration in national scope is the Statue and Ornaments of Indonesia Archipelago exhibition which was carried out by museums in Indonesia, and executed to be done in Province of West Kalimantan. Others, international collaboration have also been done with Australian, South Korea, and Dutch.  

Nowadays, there are 281 museums in Indonesia. It is very potential to develop the cross border museum collaborations nationally, regionally, and also internationally. The Museum Department will be sustainability to develop, facilitate, and decrease the challenges of cross border museum collaborations in the scope of national, regional, and also international. That matter will be followed by real action by carrying out the coordination inter-department between Department of Culture and Tourism and Foreign Affair Department of Indonesia to compile Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the museum collaborations with the other countries.   

E. Conclusions

There are some opportunities and challenges to carry out the cross border museum collaborations. We should face the challenges and establish the collaborations which are referred to the opportunities. There are some collaboration programs that we can take for that purpose. The Museum Department will be sustainability to develop, facility, and decrease the challenges of cross border museum collaborations with carrying out the coordination inter-department between Department of Culture and Tourism and Foreign Affair Department of Indonesia to compile Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the museum collaborations with the other countries.
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Source: www.museum-indonesia.net
Credit Photo: www.whyte.org

 

 

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