Qatar Museums, the International Council of Museums (ICOM)’s national committee for Qatar, and the ICOM-Arab Regional Alliance, in collaboration with the International Committee for Museology (ICOFOM), are pleased to invite papers and workshop proposals for a hybrid (in-person and online) conference on the overarching topic of The Future of Museums and Museology Practices in a Changing World, to be held from 1-3 December 2024 in Doha, Qatar.

The conference is offered at a time of global crisis and turmoil, but despite these shared international challenges and diplomatic hurdles, what unites us in the global museum community is a shared desire to safeguard our heritage and build a better future for our world and our young people, regardless of political or social perspectives. One of the conference’s overarching aims is to highlight the ways in which young people not only represent our communities and countries’ future, but crucially, they must be involved in the discussions and decision-making processes on how to solve present-day issues and tomorrow’s concerns. Young people around the world are rightly anxious about the impact of climate change and the slow progress to speed up the transition to a sustainable future, demonstrated by the Fridays for Future movement, global youth leaders, and most recently, the call to action to museum professionals at the ICOM 26th General Conference in Prague, Czechia. There is a need for greater involvement of young professionals and young people, in general, to become agents of change in museums, emphasising the role that museums can play in addressing the climate emergency and diverse narratives. In empowering the museum field across the Arab region to lead the transition to sustainability, the conference will provide a platform for discussing museology practice across the region and impact change globally.

Within this framework, it is essential to expand, deepen, and increase discussions on museology, how we curate, and how we scholars examine and teach museology in our universities and the education sector. Adaptation, innovation, and meeting the demands of changing audiences will require delving into new research and exploration of critical issues, including the use of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, co-curation, balancing historical perspectives and sociological understandings, and sharing intergenerational knowledge, among other historical and contemporary cultural readings and preservation globally. This gathering in Qatar aims to promote a sustainable museum sector in a changing world, highlighting the shared challenges and solutions across the Arab region and beyond. The conference seeks to better prepare museums for a shared sustainable future based on the United Nations Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Proposals can be submitted in English or Arabic via https://bit.ly/dohamuseumconference2024 by 31 July 2024.
 
If you have any questions or require further information, please contact the organising committee via dohaicofom@gmail.com. For conference logistics and further information, please email icofomdoha24@icom.org.qa.

Read the full CFP here (English)

or Read it here in Arabic