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Malta is now included with the 108 countries in which the International Council of Museums (ICOM) is represented. Created in 1946, ICOM is a non-governmental organisation maintaining formal relations with UNESCO and having a consultative status with the United Nations' Economic and Social Council.
National Museum of Fine Arts, Valletta
ICOM is dedicated to the development of museums and the museum profession, and operates globally for the preservation of cultural heritage. Committed to the promotion and facilitation of professional cooperation, ICOM is a worldwide network for museum professionals of all disciplines and specialisations.
ICOM functions mainly through its national committees and its international committees. The Malta National Committee of ICOM was set up in January 2002. ICOM Malta is made up of a group of professionals from Maltese state, private and ecclesiastical museums and heritage related entities.
ICOM Malta Executive Committee :
- Chairperson - Ms Samantha Fabry (Director - Heritage Enterprise Ltd)
- Vice-Chairperson - Mr. Joseph Schiro (Manager and Senior Conservator Heritage Malta)
- Secretary-General - Mr. David Cardona (Curator/Archaeologist, Museum of Archaeology, Heritage Malta)
- Treasurer – Ms. Francesca Balzan (Curator, Palazzo Falson Historic House Museum, Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti)
- Dr. Malcolm Borg (Historian and Town Planner)
- Mr Anthony Vella (Museum Designer)
- Dr. Jevon Vella (Conservation Architect, Heritage Malta, Bighi)
- Mr James Licari (Glass, Metal Conservator and Lecturer, Heritage Malta)
The National Committees are the principal instruments of communication between the ICOM Secretariat and its members. ICOM Malta was set up in 2001 to ensure the management of ICOM's interests, represents the interests of its members within ICOM and helps to implement ICOM's programmes.
ICOM also has 28 International Committees each devoted to the study of a particular type of museum or to a specific museum-related discipline. Composed of ICOM members who request membership, International Committees are exclusively professional bodies. Through its International Committees, ICOM achieves its major objectives: the exchange of scientific information at an international level, the development of professional standards, the adoption of rules and recommendations, and the realisation of collaborative projects.
The War Museum, Valletta
As a non-profit organisation, ICOM is financed primarily by membership fees and supported by various governmental and other bodies. It carries out part of UNESCO's programme for museums. Based in Paris (France), the ICOM Headquarters houses both the ICOM Secretariat and the UNESCO-ICOM Museum Information Centre.
ICOM’s activities respond to the challenges and needs of the museum profession and are focused on the following themes:
- professional cooperation and exchange
- dissemination of knowledge and raising public awareness of museums
- training of personnel
- advancement of professional standards
- elaboration and promotion of professional ethics
- preservation of heritage and combating the illicit traffic in cultural property
ICOM Code of Ethics
ICOM Statutes
ICOM Malta Statute |
