Knowledge without frontiers Knowledge Without Frontiers

KNOWLEDGE WITHOUT FRONTIERS Irena MARUŠIČ and Estera CERAR politicians and the media are, for obvious rea- sons, sensationalistic and the outcome is that people are confused. But there is good news: we have museums! This is the moment when museums can INTRODUCTION NEMO (Network of European Museum Organisations) issued a publication in 2016 – Museums, migration and cultural diversity, Recommendations for museum work 1 as a response to the migration crises that we've been faced with over the last few years. In the foreword, it states that millions of refugees have recently come to Europe and many will stay 2 . But migration is not a new phenomenon; on the contrary, it has always been a part of human history. Even the vo- cabulary in different languages supports this fact: there are numerous separate words with which different categories of migrants are described (immigrants, emigrants, refugees, aliens, ‘illegal’ or ‘legal’ migrants…). Regardless of the actual reasons for these movements of people (economic, social, reli- gious, ethnic, climate…) it has an undeniable and permanent influence on society. Despite the fact that we live in a globalized world and so should be more prepared to accept these influxes and changes, many of us are still struggling to accept the notions of “foreign”, “different” and “unknown”, with which we of- ten associate migrants. The facts are, our soci- (and should) react and prove how valuable they can be to society. Over time, the role of museums has changed many times. Nowadays they must move beyond an educational and entertain- ing role to embrace socially relevant mis- sions. They are public spaces where different perspectives on contemporary issues can be brought together within a historical frame- work to offer a measured perspective on how societies have dealt with similar issues in the past 3 . Being a socially responsible muse- um means addressing issues of relevance to one's community, as well as identifying issues and challenges where a museum's expertise can make a positive difference and impact. The first part of the ICOM definition of mu- seums sums this up perfectly: “A museum is a non-profit, permanent institution in the ser- vice of society and its development…” 4 Whilst the ICOM Code of Ethics 5 refers to the topic in chapter 6: “Museums work in close collaboration with the communities from which their collections originate as well as those they serve.” 6 ety is changing and public opinion is divided, 1 Museums, migration and cultural diversity, Recommendations for museum work. Original edition published by: Deutscher Museumsbund e.V., Belrlin, February 2015. English edition published by: NEMO- Network of European Museum Organisations, Berlin, May 2016. 2 Idem, p.3. 3 Rhiannon Mason, Identity and heritage. http://www.theheritagealliance.org.uk/tha-website/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Heritage-and-Identity-talk-Rhiannon-Mason. pdf Last visited: Nov, 2017 4 According to the ICOM Statutes, adopted by the 22nd General Assembly in Vienna, Austria on August 24th, 2007:”A museum is a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and its development A museum is a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education, study and enjoy- ment.” 6 5 ICOM Code of Ethics for Musuems, ICOM, 2013 6 Idem, p.10.

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