IMPACT COMPASS AS A TOOL TO GUIDE NEW LEADERS

‘We can learn a lot from museums that are active in sensitive communities” was the joint conclusion of experts taking part in the conference, hosted by the Fortress of Culture from Šibenik, Croatia. It was organized in one of their museum – the Croatian Centre of Corals  on the island of Zlarin,  bringing together young professionals and cultural experts from southern part of the country and ICOM professionals from all over the world. ICOM joined Europa Nostra Croatia in the implementation of the training meeting which served as an opportunity for networking and fostering collaboration among the younger generation of museum workers and experienced professionals. The primary objective was to bring expertise to increase new skills and professional conduct throughout the museum sector. The target audience came from diverse backgrounds, including institutional employees, museum activists, cultural policymakers, independent curators from the non-profit sector, as well as other museum and interpretation leaders. They attended the meeting with the aim to improve their knowledge and skills and further spread the knowledge, thus increasing the overall quality and standards of museums. INTERCOM leads the project Capacity Building – Branding – Fundraising as Key Leadership Stations Towards Successful Training Programme for Young Professionals in partnership with ICOM Croatia, MPR, ICTOP and ICOMON and for this meeting the methodology of impact compass was in focus in order to help museum professionals to do successful benchmarking and develop their tailored programmes to increase the community impact. The meeting was supported by Fortress of Culture in Šibenik, Europa Nostra and ICOM and also by the Croatian Ministry of Culture and Media.

Katarina Gregov, the Head of the Zlarin Coral Center opened the international expert meeting entitled Community Regeneration and Impact Compass Model Application with the aim of strengthening the capacity of experts, local stakeholders and the community to create a stronger impact of cultural institutions. Several Croatian experts including Darko  Komšo, director general of the Archaeological Museum of Istria, Ljiljana Marks,  a well-known researcher within the project of the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore, Ozana Palić whose expertise lies in urban regeneration and Angela Bilić who leads the Interpretation Centre “Kanal Sv. Ante” gave different perspectives on needs and accomplishments of museums when meeting present-day challenges. The training was provided by ICOM experts Goranka Horjan, director of the Dvor Trakošćan and  the chair of  INTERCOM, Deborah Ziska, MPR chair and lecturer of Museum Studies and Cultural Heritage Management Graduate Programs of Johns Hopkins University, Cristina Vannini INTERCOM Secretary and cultural policy expert and Jane Legget, Vice-Chair of of ICOM Strategic Planning Committee.

“Relevant topics are chosen for each training venue and every time we do the project activities, we focus on where we are going and see what the needs of a certain environment are. Here in Šibenik and Zlarin we focused on the aspect of cooperation with the local community and working for the local community. The impact compass methodology includes many components that may not belong exclusively to the museum sector but can be very helpful when museums want to take a different path in reaching their audiences or when they want to implement new development plan” – said Horjan. Deborah Ziska from Washington DC, an expert in marketing and PR in museum institutions, stressed that it is no longer enough for museums to just be self-sustaining. “This conference indicates some new guidelines on the role of museums in our community and how we have to be even more proactive. It is very interesting to come to this island and witness how much a museum, or center, becomes integrated into the life of the local community. Here the brand is the island of Zlarin itself and the museum is an influential institution that shape the environment in which it operates” – concluded Ziska. Jane Legget from ICOM Strategic Planning Committee talked about different approaches in regeneration of community especially in the sensitive environment.

The meeting was attended by 25 participants and it was held in English and Croatian.

INTERCOM SECRETARY PRESENTATION

OPENING OF THE MEETING

MPR CHIAR LEADING TRAINING

PARTICIPANTS IN THE MEETING