Operational resilience of museums in emergencies: a necessity in the face of natural and human-made crises

The head of ICOM Iran stressed the need for museums to be prepared for various crises, saying that operational resilience of museums and enhancing museum professionals' knowledge of crisis management have become one of the most important national and international priorities, given the risks posed by war, natural disasters, and climate change.

The head of ICOM Iran in an interview with Arya Heritage:

Emphasizing the need for museums to be prepared to face various crises, the head of ICOM Iran said: The operational resilience of museums and improving the knowledge of museum owners in the field of crisis management has become one of the important national and international priorities due to the dangers caused by war, natural disasters and climate change.

On the eve of holding a training workshop "Operational Resilience of Museums in Emergency Situations", Munir Khalki, President of ICOM Iran, in an interview with Aria Heritage reporter, pointed out the importance of museums' preparedness against crises and stated: Considering the critical conditions and dangers that may arise as a result of war, natural disasters, earthquakes, heavy rains and other human and non-human crises, it has become more necessary to deal with the issue of operational resilience and crisis management in museums.

He stated that the preparation of museums and their employees to face critical conditions is one of the issues of concern of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) in the plans of the next three years, and added: Accordingly, ICOM Iran, in cooperation with the Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, has put this educational workshop on the agenda.

Referring to the activities carried out in the field of crisis management in the field of cultural heritage, the head of ICOM Iran said: The Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism has carried out effective measures and programs in this field in recent years, especially with the efforts of Dr. Fatemeh Ali Mirzaei. Some of these programs have also been implemented in the National Museum and historical collections, including Chehlsetun.

Khalki continued: Considering the importance of the issue, we requested Dr. Ali Mirzaei to provide a specialized lesson plan for museum curators and ICOM members so that the activists in this field can get acquainted with the principles and strategies of facing a crisis and become more prepared to protect museum collections in emergency situations.

Emphasizing that crisis management in museums is both a national priority and an international priority, he said: climate change and the aggravation of environmental hazards have created conditions that not only museums, but also historical sites and cultural heritage may be threatened. Therefore, planning to reduce damages and increase preparedness against crises should be given serious attention.

The head of ICOM Iran expressed his hope that this workshop will be welcomed by museum curators and activists in the field of cultural heritage and added: We hope that holding this program will help improve the specialized knowledge of museum curators, increase their preparedness in emergency situations, and strengthen the ability to protect historical and cultural works and collections.

The specialized training workshop "Operational Resilience of Museums in Emergency Situations" will be held on Tuesday, October 21, 1405, for eight hours and taught by Fatemeh Ali Mirzaei. In this program, Mohammadi, the deputy of the National Museum of Science and Technology of Iran and the host of the workshop, and Mounir Khalki, the president of ICOM Iran, will speak. Also, specialized topics, question and answer and exchange of experience among the participants are part of this educational program.