CHAIR:

M. Cristina Vannini

Cristina Vannini, archaeologist by background, museologist and expert in museum studies and cultural projects, founded in 2004 soluzionimuseali-ims, a consulting agency for museums. Her expertise is hybrid having worked in archaeology and in the field of marketing research. Former Director General of INSULA-UNESCO, National Secretary of ICOM Italy and member of the Board of ICOFOM – ICOM International Committee of Museology, she was Trustee of the Board of European Museum Forum / EMYA from 2014 to 2018 and presently she is National Correspondent for Italy. Lecturer at various Italian universities and international institutions, she has been contracting professor at IULM University, Milan, since 2016 and, in 2019, in the Master: Tourism Management. For the academic year 2021-2022 contract full-professor at the Master of Academy Belle Arti of Macerata for European Contemporary Museology and Museography She is consultant at YAS Management Reform in Dubai for the development of cultural projects. She has been politically engaged for the city of Milan and at the regional level. She is currently member of Europa Nostra International Council and former President of the jury of the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards in the Education, Training and Awareness Raising section

TREASURER:

Reena Dewan

SECRETARY:

Martha Ikabongo

Martha works for Copperbelt Museum in Zambia as an Administrative Officer. Administration work involves museum management and human resources. Her work involves interpreting and implementing management policies and guidelines.  Management also involves taking care of human resources within the museum.   In 2021, she graduated from the University of Leicester with a Masters in Heritage and Interpretation.  From time to time she works as an assistant researcher and organizing museum programmes at national and international exhibitions.

Martha has worked with INTERCOM since 2021 when she was involved in conducting a global survey on Museum leadership. This survey revealed gaps in various challenges that museum leaders face in terms of skills gaps needed to adapt to digital transformations and limited sovereignty in terms of self-governance, among others.  The revelations of these gaps led INTERCOM to design phase 2 of the Museum Leadership programmes which Martha is currently involved.  She is currently serving as the National Secretary of ICOM Zambia.

MEMBERS:

Annissa Gultom

Annissa Gultom is an Indonesian archaeologist-museologist with almost 20 years of museum experience. She worked on museum projects in Indonesia and Southeast Asia and collaborated with Dutch and German institutions. She began her career in exhibition development, then grew into museum master planning and revitalization in Indonesia and the UAE. In these projects, she was the lead museologist for topics on Indonesian archaeology, ethnography, West Papua, the Indonesian High Court, prehistoric rock art, and Indonesian music. Her key projects include the National Museum of Indonesia (2014) and the Museum Kain in Bali (served as director from 2013 to 2016). In 2016-2017, in parallel, she was the curator for the Museum of Bank Indonesia and the 2017 Jakarta Biennale, while establishing the permanent exhibition and new visitor flow for the Jakarta History Museum.

 In 2018, she relocated to the UAE. She was involved in Abu Dhabi priority Projects (Al Ain Museum and Qasr Al Watn) while reviewing content for Maktoum House in Dubai and the presidential palace museum in Ethiopia. Since 2019, she has been the director of the National Museum of Ras Al Khaimah, where she completed major gallery updates and organised regular temporary exhibitions. In 2025, her research, “Off-Road Diplomacy”, on the Founding Fathers’ diplomacy, which reflects the unity before the union, was selected for the inaugural cycle of the Etihad Museum Research Grant. The project outcome in 2026 will be a digital display and a road-trip map that invites the public to explore the United Land of the Emirates.

Noel Bisego Lwoga

Lwoga is an accomplished heritage and tourism academic, researcher and strategist with over two decades of multidisciplinary experience, integrating academic rigour, professional practice and strategic leadership to advance sustainable tourism and transform heritage into a living legacy that strengthens cultural identity and drives socio-economic development. A former senior academic and Head of Department of Archaeology and Heritage at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) – recipient of the 2019 UDSM Outstanding Service and Leadership Award – he has mentored emerging professionals while advancing decolonisation, museum governance, heritage tourism diversification and community-based heritage enterprise resilience. Since December 2019, he has served as Director General of the National Museum of Tanzania following a short stint at UNESCO as a national professional officer. Lwoga holds a PhD in Business Administration, an M.A. in Archaeology, and an M.A. and B. in Tourism, complemented by certificates in Governance for Sustainability (Cambridge) and Business Strategy (Harvard).

Marek Prokůpek

Marek Prokůpek is Assistant Professor in Arts Management at KEDGE Arts School, KEDGE Business School in France. Marek obtained his PhD at the Department of Arts Management at the Prague University of Economics and Business with the thesis on Performance Measurement of Public Art Museums. Between 2018 and 2020 Marek was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the LabEx ICCA (Industries culturelles et création artistique) in Paris, where he conducted research on ethics of museum fundraising and museum observatories.

His research interests lie primarily in the areas of innovative business models of museum, museum fundraising and philanthropy and its ethical dilemmas, and alternative finance models in arts and culture. Marek has published several articles and book chapters on the topic of museum finance, the role of ethics in museum fundraising and museum innovative business models. Marek is a member of the INTERCOM Museum Leadership Research Team that conducted a global study of museum leadership resulting in publication Museum Leadership: Taking the pulse.

Iveta Ruskule

Iveta Ruskule has served as the Director of the Latvian National Museum of Literature and Music since 2015. She holds a Master’s degree in Baltic Philology from the University of Latvia and has more than twenty years of experience in the museum sector, including leading the Ogre History and Art Museum.

Ruskule has furthered her professional development through international museological training, participating in the Baltic Museology School in 2006–2007, 2011–2013, 2016, and 2023. She is a member of the Society for the Promotion of Museology in the Baltics, ICOM’s International Committee for Collecting (COMCOL), and, since 2024, the International Committee for Museum Management (INTERCOM).

Her professional interests include museum management, contemporary collecting, and strengthening active dialogue between society and museum collections.

Wulen Suheri

With a Bachelor of Economics in Banking and Financial Management from Perbanas (1997), she currently serves as Chief of Partnership at Indonesia Hidden Heritage Creative Hub. Suheri brings extensive experience in institutional relations, specializing in strategic collaborations with government bodies, embassies, universities, media, and cultural institutions. Her work supports museum leadership, governance, and public engagement through multi-sectoral collaborations. Wulen has coordinated embassy-led cultural programs, built academic partnerships, and supported museum initiatives that align with national goals and global standards. Recent highlights include coordinating the EU–Indonesia Museum Forward 2024, bringing together 30+ experts from Asia and Europe, and organizing the Southeast Asia Museum Collaboration Conference 2025 to strengthen regional networks and share best practices.