ICOM’s International Committee for Museum Management (INTERCOM), along with partner committees ICOMON, ICOM ARAB, ICOM SEE, IMREC, ICOM UK, ICOM France, ICOM Qatar and Museum Leadership House invites participants of the ICOM Dubai Conference to attend their joint programme.

 

PRE-CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

 

Museum Leadership House – informal meeting of young leaders by invitation only.

 

DUBAI WORLD TRADE CENTRE CONFERENCE VENUE

12th November 2025, 14:30 – 16:00

 

14.30. Welcome words by Goranka Horjan (INTERCOM Chair) and Asma Ibrahim (ICOMON Chair)

 

14.35. Moderator: Carol Ann Scott (ICOM-IMREC) introduces the session Museum Funding: Emerging Trends and New Futures and keynote panelists Michele Rivet (IRAPFM) and Marek Prokupek (INTERCOM) 

Museums play a crucial role in fostering well-being, encouraging critical thinking and contributing to social cohesion in a rapidly changing global world. To continue and build on this work, museums require a secure resource base. A recent ICOM-IMREC research project undertaken by the International Research Alliance on Public Funding for Museums (IRAPFM) and initiated by ICOM-IMREC raises the alarm on the world-wide state of public funding for the sector. This global study reveals a pattern of consistent funding decline over the last two decades with no sign raising critical questions about the on-going sustainability of our sector. This session will explore the global situation of public funding, its impact, how museums are responding with new funding models and why advocacy is a strategic necessity for a sustainable future.

15.00 Pecha kucha presentations:

15.01. Prof. Yu Miao (China)

Title: Few to More: Institutional Mechanisms and Cultural Service Evaluation in State-Funded Museums — An Empirical Study of Four Cases in China

 

15.08. Kimmo Levä (Finland)

Title: Museums at the Crossroads: Growing Roles, Shrinking Budgets

 

15.15. Dominic Neergheen (UK) online

Title: MAGNET: Developing Collaborative Approaches to Museum Funding and Advocacy

 

15.22. Urška Purg and Matko Mioč (Slovenia)

Title: From Bankarium to MUZA: Diversifying Funding and Repositioning a Private Museum for Public Value

 

15.29. David Little (USA) online

Title: Don’t Go It Alone: A Partnership Approach for Future Museum Funding

 

15.36. Cécile Anger (France)

Title: Shaping the Future of Museum Funding: The Role of Intangible Assets, Brand and Image Topic: Museum Funding: Emerging Trends and New Futures

 

15.43. Laura Zani (Switzerland)

Title: Geneva’s Musée d’art et d’histoire: New perspectives for the cultural philanthropy

15.50. Q & A session: Discussion with presenters and keynotes

 

16.00 – 16.30 NETWORKING COFFEE BREAK

 

12th November 2025, 16:30 – 18:00

 16.30. Moderator: Hans van Bunte (INTERCOM)  introduces the session Leadership and Strategic Advocacy and the keynote panelists: Asma Ibrahim (ICOMON, ICOM Pakistan) and Terry Nyambe (ICOM Zambia)

In the light of declining public funding, museum leaders find that their role increasingly requires effective advocacy to leverage new sources of funding and influence decision-making. Among the tools of advocacy are compelling evidence of the beneficial social and economic value of museums and familiarity with existing cultural policy.  In addition, however, campaign development, pitching an idea, identifying decision-makers, building a stakeholder base and effective lobbying strategies are also essential. This session will explore values-based advocacy for museum leadership to build sustainable futures.

 

17.00. Pecha Kucha presentations:

 

17.01. Dorien Jansen (the Netherlands)

Title: The New Treasury: Public Engagement and Education without Commercial Goals

 

17.08. Yuliya Glazyrina (Russia)

Title: The Permian Period Museum: PR and GR campaign to raise stakeholders awareness

 

17.15. Sabari Christian Dao (Burkina Faso)

Title: De la promesse présidentielle à l’action : plaidoyer stratégique pour la construction d’une grande salle d’exposition moderne au Musée National du Burkina Faso

 

17.22. Olivia O’Leary (USA)

Title: Innovations in Funding: Insights from an International Case Study

 

17.29. Noam Alon (France)

Title: Curating Between Autonomy and Attraction: The Hybrid Funding Model of the Palais de Tokyo

 

17 36. Kirsty Warner (UK)

Title: Advocating through Alignment: Amgueddfa Cymru and the Politics of Museum Sustainability in Wales

 

17.43. Slavko Spasić (Serbia)

Title: From Absence to Advocacy: Building a Natural History Museum in Serbia

 17.50. Q & A session: Discussion with presenters and keynotes

 

 

13th November 2025, 14:30 – 16:00

14.30. Moderator: Goranka Horjan (INTERCOM) introduces the session Ethical Outsourcing: Freelancing and Leadership with keynote panelists Emilie Girard (ICOM France), Kristina Broughton (ICOM UK) and Blaise Kilian (ICOMON, ICOM Cambodia)

While outsourcing has been present in museums for decades in areas such as security, catering, design, etc. and outside experts provide vital services to museums by offering their knowledge, skills and commitment in a wide variety of areas, the growth and type of outsourcing has raised concerns among museum professionals. This is especially true when the type of outsourcing significantly influences the leadership of a museum, its daily management, its resource development and its impact on employees. A recent survey dealing with outsourcing in museums will be presented as a stimulus to generating discussion about how ICOM, as a global museum network, should explore to what extent this trend influences the sector and how future developments can be foreseen and managed.

 

15.00 Pecha Kucha presentations:

 

15.01. Iveta Ruskule (Latvia)

Title: Outsourcing Creativity: Opportunities and Challenges in Collaborating with External Creative Professionals in Museum Exhibition Development

 

15.08. Liesel Gentelli (Australia)

Title: “You know what would really be interesting.?” Optimising the outsourcing of scientific research in museums

 

15.15. Han Jiang (UK / China)

Title: From Contract to Collaboration: Towards Sustainable Outsourcing in Museum Digitisation

 

15.22. Konstantinos Chatziantoniou (Saudi Arabia)

Title: The Power of Independence Through Educating Unskilled Employees to Highly Skilled Professionals at Ithra Museum

 

15.29. Alia Kuznetsova (Russia)

Title: Organizational Consulting in the Gestalt Approach: Outsourcing for Changes

 

15.36. Shin-Chieh Tzeng (Taiwan)

Title: A Perfect Match? Comparative Research into the Contracting Out System of Public Museums in the UK and Taiwan

 

15.43. Mariko Takibata (Japan)

Title: Background and Issues of Outsourcing in Japanese Museums

 

15.50 . Q & A session: Discussion with presenters and keynotes

 

EXPO DUBAI VENUE DAY – OFF

 15 November 2025 10.00 – 18.00

Theme 2: Future scoping: In conversation with young museum leaders of the future

9.00 Transport from the point in the City Centre Dubai to Expo Venue

 

10.00 SESSION ONE moderated by Anne- Marie Gillis (INTERCOM)

Emerging next – step leaders: Museum Leadership House Workshop

 

The takeaways of the meeting with emerging leaders: Museum Leadership House 2025 held in Dubai prior to the triennial conference will  be presented in order to provide a dynamic and engaging platform to further develop the leadership conversation with future and emerging museum leaders. The proposed structure of the workshop will be presented consisting of three distinctive and interconnected sections – Foundation, Provocation and Activation which will enable an exploration of leadership challenges in a dynamic conversation with the audience.

 

Workshop led by: Sofia Widmann (MLH), Olga Tykhonova (MLH) and Anne- Marie Gillis (INTERCOM)

 

10.30. Presentations moderated by Anne- Marie Gillis (INTERCOM)

 

 

10.30. Jianjun Ye (UK)

Title: Gaming Profits, Cultural Gains: Nitroplus’s Innovative Funding Model for Museums

 

10.40. Sunghee Cho (South Korea)

Title: Essential Competencies for Young Professionals in the Era of Digital Transformation

 

10.50. Francesca Bacci (Italy / UAE)

Title: Preparing Tomorrow’s Museum Leaders: A Gulf-Responsive Educational Framework for the 21st Century

 

11.00. Q & A session: Discussion with presenters and keynotes

 

 

11.10. NETWORKING COFFEE BREAK

 

12.00 SESSION TWO moderated by Cristina Vannini (INTERCOM)

 

12.00. Panel with ICOM Arab – Existing and emerging museum leaders in the Middle East

 

Panellists: Echcherki DAHMALI, President of ICOM Arab – Dr Othman Moamen, head of Museums Sector in Egypt,  Rashad Bukhash, President of the Association of the Protection of Heritage in UAE (Dubai),  Dr. Fatema Hassan Al Sulaiti, ICOM Qatar

 

12.30. Presentations:

 

12.30. Amal Ibrahim (Egypt)

Title: Building Future Museum Leaders: Capacity Building and Knowledge Exchange at the Grand Egyptian Museum

 

12.40. Asmaa Hussein Abdelhamied Mahmoud (Egypt)

Title: Empowering Emerging Professionals for Museum Leadership to Ensure Sustainability in Rapidly Changing Environments

 

12.50. Lamya Al Nuaimi (UAE)

Title: Brand and Innovative Partnerships

 

13.00. Q & A session: Discussion with presenters and keynotes

 

13.15 LUNCH BREAK

 

14.15. SESSION THREE moderated by Martha Ikabongo (INTERCOM)

 

14.15. Panel with ICOM SEE:  How to integrate emerging leaders into ICOM

Panellists:  Alenka Černelič Krošelj (ICOM SEE), Reena Dewan (INTERCOM), Damon Monzavi (ICOMON); Marine Mkrtchyan (ICOM Armenia)

 

14.45. Presentations:

14.45. Edward Ayres de Abreu (Portugal)

Title: Rebuilding a Museum and Its Team: The Power of Listening and Democratic Leadership

 

14.55. Jude De Wolff – Finies (Dutch Caribbean / Bonaire)

Title: Strategic Representation and Cultural Diplomacy in Practice in the Dutch Caribbean

 

15.05. Anareli Acosta (Mexico)

Title: New Voices Out of the Vault: Reimagining Central Bank Museums Through Inclusive and Emerging Leadership

 

15.15. Q & A session: Discussion with presenters and keynotes

15.30. Addressing turbulent times – related to the ICOM statement of peace:

Yuliia Vaganova, Vice Chair of ICOM Ukraine, Director of the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Arts

Title: Navigating Museums Through Peace and War: Ethical Dilemmas

 

15.40  BREAK

 

16.00. ANNUAL MEETING OF ICs INTERCOM / ICOMON

NON-MEMEBERS VISIT EXPO DUBAI

 

18.00. Return to the Dubai City Centre