60^st Session - 5-7 June 2000 - Paris, France

Summary of the main points

INTRODUCTION

The Advisory Committee met on Monday June 5 and on Wednesday June 7 in plenary sessions. On Tuesday June 6 the Advisory Committee separated into two groups, National and International committees. At 16h00, on June 6th a joint session was held between the two Committees to report initial findings regarding their discussion on the proposals recommended by the RTF.

At the invitation of the Russian Delegation, members of the Advisory Committee were given an opportunity to view an interactive demonstration of the " 150 Tours of the Most Renowned Museums of the World ". Once again on behalf of the Advisory Committee I should like to thank the ICOM National Committee of Russia and the Russian Ambassador to UNESCO for hosting the lovely reception offered which followed.

The Advisory Committee meeting had the pleasure of welcoming Mounir Bouchenaki, Representative of the Director General of UNESCO, Lyndel Prott, Chief of the International Standards Section and Isabelle Vinson, programme specialist. We also acknowledged the excellent contribution of Marcia Lord, former Editor in Chief of MUSEUM International, who had only recently retired a few days before the meeting.

1. Intervention of the President of ICOM
Jacques Perot addressed members of the Advisory Committee on the activities of the Organisation. He mentioned particularly the meeting held in Peru and Bolivia on Cultural Tourism. He underlined the role played by Yani Herreman, Vice-Chairperson of the Executive Council in co-ordinating the project. He also informed members of the main points to be developed within ICOM: Ethics and Illicit Traffic. He reminded participants of the file on the Red List, published by ICOM Communications and noted his letter to the French Minister of Culture deploring the purchase of restricted objects service. He also underlined the importance of ICOM's action in response to Emergency situations, noting particularly the situation of museums in Yugoslavia.

He ended his address on the reform process which is in the process of development by ICOM. On behalf of all ICOM members Jacques Perot thanked both the RTF and Ethics Committee for their work, and most particularly Bernice Murphy for the excellent report she had produced to facilitate the work of the Advisory Committee and the Executive Council and other. He also encouraged members of the Advisory Committee to actively participate in the process by giving feedback on the proposed changes which would help us prepare a new start in Barcelona, with the adoption of revisions to the By Laws.

2. Introduction from Bernice Murphy, Chairperson of the ICOM Reform Task Force
Bernice Murphy introduced the report of the RTF to members of the Advisory and informed them it was a 'tool box' to facilitate the membership in coming to conclusions on the reform process. The main concern was the structure of ICOM and its functioning. She asked members to please discuss the main recommendations during the separate meetings of National and International Committees and to come back to the plenary session with guidelines and suggestions for the continuation of the process.

3. Review of the minutes
After having adopted the draft agenda, members adopted the minutes of the 59th session of the Advisory Committee with some modifications. One of major modification was the amendment as proposed by the Chairperson of the INTERCOM. Nancy Hushion made reference to the request that ICOM investige the possibility of hosting Web Sites of National and International Committees,and that the Secretary-General report bact to the Advisory Committee.
The Advisory Committee took note of the minutes of the 94^th, and 95^th sessions of the Executive Council without any comments.

4. Secretary General's report
Manus Brinkman presented his report on the activities of the Secretariat.
He informed members of the current structure of the Secretariat and the departure of Sophie Op 'teynde , Membership Assistant and Valérie Chièze, Programme Officer. He also informed members of the arrival of Saskia Brown, Editorial Assistant and Cristina Menegazzi, Program specialist. Manus Brinkman also indicated that Jennifer Thevenot would now replace Valérie Chièze as the Head of the Programme Activities. Valérie Jullien will be the Head of the Publications Service and Communication. He reviewed ICOM's progress on AFRICOM, the impact of the publication of the Red List, the signing of two important memoranda of understanding with INTERPOL and the World Customs Organization to assist the work with respect to stemming the tide of illicit traffic. He also reported on his very positive site visit to Korea regarding the suitability of that location to host the General Conference in 2004. Manus Brinkman spoke eloquently about his meeting with the National Committee in Belgrade fostering contact with isolated members. He reflected positively on the development of closer co-operation with ICCROM to develop training programmes.

5. Report : "Workshop on Cultural Tourism"
Yani Herreman gave a brief history and an overview the Conference on Cultural Tourism held in Peru and Bolivia. She also thanked Manus Brinkman for having found the budget for such a big event. She outlined the major outcomes of the meeting and said the meeting had been very successful and useful. She indicated that further actions may be undertaken following this Conference and requested the Executive Council's consideration to fund a report on the meeting's findings.

6. Treasurer's report
Piet Pouw presented the 1999 Balance sheet and the Budget for 2000. These two documents were adopted by the Advisory Committee. However, members of the Advisory Committee requested that in future this information on actual expenses should be indicated with the budget and be presented in one document instead of two for the next meeting in 2001. Some questions were raised with respect to the ICOM investments, and the need to identify whether any interest had accrued, and if so where these figures appeared in the Balance sheet was indicated. Sylvie Délice responded to say that there is no amount mentioned in the Balance sheet because we had not sold any investments. She indicated that without sales there was no bank interest to report.

7. Intervention of the UNESCO Representative
Mounir Bouchenaki, addressed members of the Advisory Committee on possible joint actions between ICOM and UNESCO. He also informed members on action undertaken by UNESCO to preserve the Cultural Heritage in the world. He focussed on the complementarity between the two organisations in areas such as illicit traffic of cultural property, museum development and training and the importance of the ICOM Code of Ethics. He underlined the importance of the 1970 UNESCO Convention and informed that Switzerland may ratify it soon. He also thanked Marcia Lord for her work with Museum International and informed that Isabelle Vinson is now the new Editor in Chief of MUSEUM INTERNATIONAL. He informed members of the Advisory of the future creation of a major Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Egypt in which he sought ICOM's participation. He stressed to members the importance of ICOM's collaboration with UNESCO and offered, on behalf of the Director General of UNESCO, encouragement to ICOM for its action for the preservation of Cultural Heritage.

8. Election of the Vice-Chairpeson of the Advisory Committee
Members were reminded of the resignation of Kassaye Begashaw, elected as Vice-Chairperson of the Advisory Committee in Melbourne during the 57^th session of the Advisory Committee. 4 members of the Advisory Committee offered themselves as candidates for the position: Günther Dembski (Austria and ICMS); Joseph-Marie Essomba (Cameroon); Ersi Philippopoulou (ICAMT);Hector Rivero Borell (Mexico). 2 other candidates were also proposed but they were not currently members of the Advisory Committee, and were therefore ineligible. Members of the Advisory Committee elected Günther Dembski as Vice-Chairperson of the Advisory Committee after a vote by a "show of hands". The Chairperson thanked all of the candidates for their evident enthusiasm and commitment in submitting themselves for consideration and congratulated Mr. Dembski on behalf of the Advisory.

9. List of candidates for the 2001-2004 Executive Council
The Members considered the slate of candidates nominated for election to the Executive Council in 2001. The Chairperson reported that, following a general invitation to the membership to submit nominations, 25 Committees had proposed 17 eligible candidates for the posts of Officers and Members of the 2001-2004 Executive Council [see attached list].One further nomination had been received well past the deadline date of 15th April and had therefore been considered ineligible. The members asked a few questions for clarification regarding the process of nominations. They then endorsed by consensus the list of candidates for presentation at the ICOM General Conference in Barcelona in 2001.

10. Reform Task Force
Bernice Murphy further detailed both the progress of the RTF and the process they hoped to follow during the course of this Advisory Committee. She fielded a number of comments on the content, reminding members that there was no intention to go deeply into the details at this time.

11. Ethics Committee
Geoffrey Lewis, Chairperson of the Ethics Committee presented the report of his group and the proposed modifications of the Code of Ethics. The document was currently only available in English. He invited members to make their comments and proposed to distribute it widely for others to make their comments. A final version will be prepared for Barcelona.

12. Report on the separate meetings of National and International Committees

12.a. National Committees
National Committees had previously designated Peggy Loar (USA) to continue to chair the meeting held on June 8th and Hadwig Kraeutler (Austria) as Rapporteur. During their meeting they discussed about the RTF report and about the ICOM triennial programme. They asked that the programme reflect the proposed modifications in the RTF report. They also proposed to have an annual General Assembly each year. They also proposed modifications for the redaction of the text.
They designated Michel van Praët, Chair of the French National Committee, To be a member of the Ethics Committee.
During the meeting of National Committees the following were examined:
- the Ethics Committee report presented by Geoffrey Lewis
- the fees for the individual members

For International Museums Day, they endorsed the theme: Museums: Building Community.
National Committees members indicated their desire to have Peggy Loar and Hadwig Kraeutler serve in the same positions for 2001. However, Andrea Wells (Barbados) had been designated to undertake the chairperson's role in Barcelona by Peggy Loar, in the event she could not ensure her participation at that time.

International Committees asked questions about the amount granted to the committees as a regular subvention. They took note that the amount depended on the number of voting members of the Committee.

For the International Museum Day the International Committees developed two themes linked with globalisation and museums: preserving the past for the future. They also supported the theme : "Museums: Building Community". They also discussed the RTF report and thanked Bernice Murphy for the excellent work done by the Working Group.

They also examined the possibility of eliminating the non-voting member category. They finally decided to keep it but they indicated that better means of communication with non-voting members should be found. In addition, they discussed the size of the International Committees and observed that within the ICOM Statutes an International Committee may be dissolved.

They wish the RTF to examine ICOM's finances and the possibilities to raise funds. They also recommended more links between the International Committees. They reminded that the International Committees are amongst the principal tools of ICOM's work but they only received a small part (4 %) of the budget to develop programme activities. They endorsed the recommendations that ICOM create a permanent committee with respect to the financial and legal aspects of the Organisation.

13. Working Group on International Committees
During its meeting, the Working Group on International Committees indicated that they had previously determined that its members were unable to support the formation of a new International Committee for University Museums and, since no new or revised information was presented to the Working Group, this decision still stood. Members however agreed to accept the proposal of IAMAM to become an International Committee. They also accepted the new name of ICAA as the International Committee for Decorative Arts and Design being the International Committee for Decorative Arts and Design.

14. General Conferences

14.a. ICOM 2001
Members of the Advisory took note of the presentation made by Andrea Garcia Sastre, on the General Conference for 2001. She explained the extraordinary efforts of the Organizing Committee to ensure the support of the various governmental institutions which was essential to the success of the Barcelona meeting. Members of the Advisory asked to be informed of the address of the Web Site for ICOM 2001, the list of keynote speakers, and also asked that problems relating to the visas be resolved by the Organizing Committee. Members expressed their concerns regarding the lodging of participants and the place where the meetings will be held. They asked whether the Organizing Committee had negotiated special rates for airfares. Andrea Garcia Sastre indicated that an agreement had been signed with the Iberian Company. She also provided the Web site address [http://www.icom2001barcelona.org] and informed members of the provisional list of speakers. The Chairperson informed that the Organizing Committee had already been advised to address the visa issue.
Andrea Garcia Sastre informed members that there would be a commercial Trade fair. The organizing Committee also expressed the desire to open some sessions for the general public who may be interested. This suggestion was well received by the Advisory Committee.

14.b. ICOM 2004
For ICOM 2004, members took note of the report from the Chairman of the National Committee of Korea, Buyong-mo Kim. They very much appreciated the video presentation of the proposed conference centre and cultural aspects, extraordinary heritage and excellent museums, and noted the generous financial support envisaged from governmental and private sources. The Advisory Committee agreed by acclamation to present the candidacy of Korea for the 2004 General Conference.

15. RTF: responses of the Advisory Committee
Bernice Murphy then offered a report on the suggestions of the participants with respect to the Reform process outlined. She emphasised the importance of the recommendations (R) and agreed that some might be changed before the presentation in 2001 during the General Conference. For instance she mentioned R#11 concerning honorary members. She underlined the wish to have them recommended by 3 national Committees instead of one. She reiterated on the need for ICOM to expand the number of members of the Executive Council to accommodate a balance of skills experience and a geographic representation. She reviewed for members the major recommendations which may require statutory change. These included R#13 on Student Membership and R#28, R#29, R#30 and R#32 on the governance, size and structure of the Executive Council ; R#49 on a Finance Resources Committee, R#52 on a Legal Affairs & Properties Standing Committee, R#51 on a bureau (still under examination by the Executive Council and RTF) and R# 53 on an annual General Assembly and elections.

She also underlined the importance of the financial and legal aspect of the Organisation. The RTF would seek to have further legal advice in this regard. Bernice Murphy also spoke about the problem regarding the issue of copyright. She noted for example the need for protection of ICOM's name and logo. Members of the Advisory asked that the report of the RTF be placed on the ICOM Web Site. The Chairperson reported that this had already been discussed and agreed with the Secretariat.

16. 2001-2004 Triennial Programme
Members of the Advisory have expressed the wish to have one document combining the RTF Action plan and the triennial programme for 2001-2004. After some considerable discussion on the issue of lack of representation during the discussion of the proposed reforms, the members approved unanimously on a motion presented by Peggy Loar (AAM//ICOM) and seconded by Ann Davis (ICOM/CANADA) to give the RTF their mandate to continue on the major lines of evaluation and reform proposed in the RTF report.

17. 2001 International Museums Day
Concerning the theme for the International Museums Day for 2001 the members decided to adopt Museums: Building community; while requesting further assistance in terms of interpreting the theme in advance of the date in 2001.

18. Other
Concerning the proposal for the hosting of Web Sites of National Committees, Manus Brinkman acknowledged the proposition, and noted that it had been the subject of a consultant's report just being submitted to the Executive and the financial aspects will be studied further in terms of the impact on the Organisation.

A letter from Monica Garrido, member of the Advisory Committee and representative of the National Committee of Argentina was read outlining the history of the issue and proposing the adoption of Spanish as an official ICOM language. I indicated that this proposal is already being considered by the Executive Council within the reform process and that the RTF would reflect on these issues in their deliberations.

Christiane Logie, thanked those members (approximately 50% of ICOM membership) who responded to the survey regarding emergency situations. She however felt disappointed regarding the number of replies. She indicated that she would present a detailed report to the Executive Council.

Members of the Advisory thanked the Chairperson and members of the RTF, as well as the Secretariat for all the work done for the preparation of this session.

The members decided to approve the need for an extraordinary session of the Advisory Committee in early December to further discuss the RTF report and the 2001-2004 Triennial programme.

List of candidates

2001-2004 ICOM EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

Herewith is the list of candidates for the 2001-2004 Executive Council endorsed during the 60^th Session of the Advisory Committee held from June 5 to 7, 2000.
This list indicates nominations as received to the ICOM Secretariat by April 15, 2000 from the following Committees :
Argentina - Congo - Central African Republic - Croatia - Cuba - Denmark - Dem. Rep. of the Congo - Ecuador - Finland - Iceland - Italy - Latvia - Mexico - Niger - Norway - Paraguay - Perú - Romania - Spain - Sweden - Switzerland - United States - COSTUME - ICMAH - ICME - ICR - ICTOP.

The biographical notes of all candidates are available upon request at the ICOM Secretariat and will be published in a brochure jointly with ICOM News No. 1/2001.(back to item 9)