Importance of interculturality
Since 1977, May 18 is celebrated International Museum Day (IMD) with the participation of around 37,000 museums spread over more than 158 countries. The main objective is to raise awareness about the importance of interculturality in museums as facilitators of collaboration and peace between different cultures.
This day was chosen and not another because on this same date in 1947 the ICOM (International Council of Museums) was created who every year organize this celebration to commemorate its anniversary.
In all editions a different motto is proposed. Last year for example was “The future of Tradition.” In this year 2020 it is Museums for equality: diversity and inclusion . This motto Volem Valencia shares it with its entirety since one of our main objectives is the same: equality, diversity and inclusion in all guided tours.
This motto advocates for museums to be a meeting point to learn from the diverse perspectives that make up communities and museum staff. In addition, another objective is to promote tools to identify and avoid prejudice in museums.
Guided visits to museums
Museums are increasingly aware of this and support accessibility. At Volem Valencia we offer guided tours of different museums in the Valencian Community such as the Fallas museum in Valencia, the honey museum in Montroi, the Segorbe oil museum, the toy museum in Ibi or the museum of the Jijona nougat, among many others. If you want to have more information about this, you can consult our website in the routes and experiences sections where you will find various guided visits to different museums accessible to all people.
Museums are adapting to get closer to people and exploring new ways of addressing current social problems, thus being platforms for collective participation in which visitors are protagonists of their own learning experience . Currently, in 2020 we are immersed in a unique situation, in Covid, with which museums have had to adapt to these circumstances.
Every May 18 there are a number of events and activities that can last a day, a weekend or even the whole week. Due to the coronavirus, many museums have opted for virtual guided tours or to open their doors with less capacity.
Map of activities around the world
Here we have the ICOM link where it appears map with all the activities taking place in museums around the world . We found many webinars and interactive visits such as Webinar “Museums for equality: diversity and inclusion” in Chile, a guided tour with 360 degree views of the Louvre in Paris or the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, among an immense amount of activities. With regard to the Valencian Community, some actions include an online visit to the Burriana wall, educational and family proposals in time of confinement at the IVAM or online stories at the Alicante Museum of Archeology.
Due to the current situation, all museum spaces of the Generalitat will be free throughout the year 2020.
Regarding the face-to-face activities, many have decided to move to November coinciding with the international night of museums.
Happy Museum Day and may you not just stay in one day, but enjoy these spaces of learning and wisdom throughout the year.
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