UNESCO INTERNATIONAL SUMMER SCHOOL OF MUSEOLOGY

Head  Doc. PhDr. Zbyněk Stránský, CSc.

Žerotínovo nám .9, 601 77 Brno, tel. 42 128 237

In the year 1996 the tenth anniversary of establishment of the International Summer School of Museology was commemorated. The Summer School came into existence on the basis of an initiative and a Resolution of the 23rd General Conference of UNESCO. This decade was very important for its orientation and also for its position and anchorage in Masaryk University. In the first ten years of its existence the school battled with limitations imposed by the totalitarian regime and suspicions of performing activities incompatible with the ideology of the ruling class. In spite of that the existence of the School was preserved and after November 1989 transferred into quite a new context of the society and the University.

To celebrate this jubilee ISSOM organised an international symposium on Museology for Tomorrow's World on 1 - 11 October 1996. This event took place under the auspices of the Rector and the Lady Mayor of the City of Brno. This was not only a celebration but predominantly a workshop. The participants (ISSOM graduates) were asked to answer several questions concerning the importance of the school but predominantly they were invited to express their views on its future. The core of the workshop was a number of questions concerning the mission and objectives of museology and its teaching from the viewpoint of the future. The workshop was attended by prominent representatives of European museology.

Within the scope of its programme ISSOM organised two courses of specialised studies. The first was in June and its theme was museum communication and presentation, the second was in September and its theme was collection-forming activities of museums.

The activity of ISSOM has attracted more and more attention from foreign countries. For this reason ISSOM tries to sponsor travel expenses of many interested persons from abroad whose countries do not have enough money to fund the participation of its specialists. There is an increased interest in School materials. One publishing house in Munich offered co-operation to ISSOM. It published Conference Proceedings and offered to provide diskettes with ISSOM teaching materials.

The year 1996 was a starting point for further development and international impact.  

UNESCO CHAIR OF MUSEOLOGY AND THE WORLD HERITAGE 

Head  Prof. JUDr. Vinoš Sofka, Dr. h. c.

Žerotínovo nám. 9, 601 77 Brno

tel.: 42 128 372, tel./fax: 42 128 396

or  tel.: 46 - 8 - 792 09 22, fax: 46 - 8 - 758 14 74

In 1996 the Department was preparing an international research programme concerning a holistic concept of the world heritage. The so-called Transition Project, emphasizing the creative usage of heritage and the active role of monument care and museum specialists in the process of democratisation in post-totalitarian countries, was supported by partners from Brazil, Ecuador, Russia and all Baltic countries. 

In the Czech Republic an agreement was made on the method of forming the Czech team and areas in which it should develop its activities. Special attention was given to raising funds of the Department which was dependent on the limited funds of the University and extra contributions of the Ministry of Education.