Celebrate Internatioal Museum Day
ICOM Past : back to the origins of international museum day
International Museum Day is coming up on May 18 but, before that, let’s go back to 1978. We invite you to discover the story behind the creation of this milestone to rally the international museum community by diving into our recently digitised archives.
1976: THE BIRTH OF AN IDEA
As early as 1949, André Leveillé, president from 1948 to 1956 of Icom’s Committee No. 1 for scientific and technical museums, planetaria, health museums, and museums of the history of science and technology (the future CIMUSET), called for a “museum crusade” at the end of his introduction to the issue of Museum, Vol II, No. 4, 1949, entitled “Museums in the service of all / Les Musées au service de tous.
« Museum directors may look to the future with confidence, but they must also realize where their duties and responsibilities lie. They must work with faith and enthusiasm, joining in the croisade for museums that we are appealing to Unesco to launch with all the power and resources at its command.»
