In the light of declining public funding, museum leaders find that their role increasingly requires effective advocacy to leverage new sources of funding and influence decision-making. Among the tools of advocacy are compelling evidence of the beneficial social and economic value of museums and familiarity with existing cultural policy. In addition, however, campaign development, pitching an idea, identifying decision-makers, building a stakeholder base, and effective lobbying strategies are also essential. This session will explore values-based advocacy for museum leadership to build sustainable futures.
- Moderator: Hans van Bunte (INTERCOM)
- Keynote speakers: Asma Ibrahim (ICOMON); Terry Nyambe (ICOM Zambia) TBC
- Flash presentations: call for papers related to the synopsis
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PRE-CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
Museum Leadership House – informal meeting of young leaders by invitation only.
DUBAI WORLD TRADE CENTRE CONFERENCE VENUE
Programme:
12th November 2025, 14:30 – 16:00
14:30 Moderator: Goranka Horjan (INTERCOM) introduces the session Ethical Outsourcing: Freelancing and Leadership with keynote panelists Emilie Girard (ICOM France), Kristina Broughton (ICOM UK) and Blaise Kilian (ICOMON, ICOM Cambodia)
While outsourcing has been present in museums for decades in areas such as security, catering, design, etc. and outside experts provide vital services to museums by offering their knowledge, skills and commitment in a wide variety of areas, the growth and type of outsourcing has raised concerns among museum professionals. This is especially true when the type of outsourcing significantly influences the leadership of a museum, its daily management, its resource development and its impact on employees. A recent survey dealing with outsourcing in museums will be presented as a stimulus to generating discussion about how ICOM, as a global museum network, should explore to what extent this trend influences the sector and how future developments can be foreseen and managed.
15:00 Pecha Kucha presentations:
15:01 Iveta Ruskule (Latvia)
Title: Outsourcing Creativity: Opportunities and Challenges in Collaborating with External Creative Professionals in Museum Exhibition Development
15:08 Liesel Gentelli (Australia)
Title: “You know what would really be interesting.?” Optimising the outsourcing of scientific research in museums
15:15 Han Jiang (UK / China)
Title: From Contract to Collaboration: Towards Sustainable Outsourcing in Museum Digitisation
15:22 Konstantinos Chatziantoniou (Saudi Arabia)
Title: The Power of Independence Through Educating Unskilled Employees to Highly Skilled Professionals at Ithra Museum
15:29 Alia Kuznetsova (Russia)
Title: Organizational Consulting in the Gestalt Approach: Outsourcing for Changes
15:36 Shin-Chieh Tzeng (Taiwan)
Title: A Perfect Match? Comparative Research into the Contracting Out System of Public Museums in the UK and Taiwan
15:43 Mariko Takibata (Japan)
Title: Background and Issues of Outsourcing in Japanese Museums
15:50 Q & A session: Discussion with presenters and keynotes
16.00 – 16.30 NETWORKING COFFEE BREAK
12th November 2025, 16:30 – 18:00
16:30 Moderator: Hans van Bunte (INTERCOM) introduces the session Leadership and Strategic Advocacy and the keynote panelists: Asma Ibrahim (ICOMON, ICOM Pakistan) and Terry Nyambe (ICOM Zambia)
In the light of declining public funding, museum leaders find that their role increasingly requires effective advocacy to leverage new sources of funding and influence decision-making. Among the tools of advocacy are compelling evidence of the beneficial social and economic value of museums and familiarity with existing cultural policy. In addition, however, campaign development, pitching an idea, identifying decision-makers, building a stakeholder base and effective lobbying strategies are also essential. This session will explore values-based advocacy for museum leadership to build sustainable futures.
17:00 Pecha Kucha presentations:
17:01 Dorien Jansen (the Netherlands)
Title: The New Treasury: Public Engagement and Education without Commercial Goals
17:08 Yuliya Glazyrina (Russia)
Title: The Permian Period Museum: PR and GR campaign to raise stakeholders awareness
17:15 Sabari Christian Dao (Burkina Faso)
Title: De la promesse présidentielle à l’action : plaidoyer stratégique pour la construction d’une grande salle d’exposition moderne au Musée National du Burkina Faso
17:22 Olivia O’Leary (USA)
Title: Innovations in Funding: Insights from an International Case Study
17:29 Noam Alon (France)
Title: Curating Between Autonomy and Attraction: The Hybrid Funding Model of the Palais de Tokyo
17:36 Kirsty Warner (UK)
Title: Advocating through Alignment: Amgueddfa Cymru and the Politics of Museum Sustainability in Wales
17:43 Slavko Spasić (Serbia)
Title: From Absence to Advocacy: Building a Natural History Museum in Serbia
17:50 Q & A session: Discussion with presenters and keynotes
13th November 2025, 14:30 – 16:00
14:30 Moderator: Goranka Horjan (INTERCOM) introduces the session Ethical Outsourcing: Freelancing and Leadership with keynote panelists Emilie Girard (ICOM France), Kristina Broughton (ICOM UK) and Blaise Kilian (ICOMON, ICOM Cambodia)
While outsourcing has been present in museums for decades in areas such as security, catering, design, etc. and outside experts provide vital services to museums by offering their knowledge, skills and commitment in a wide variety of areas, the growth and type of outsourcing has raised concerns among museum professionals. This is especially true when the type of outsourcing significantly influences the leadership of a museum, its daily management, its resource development and its impact on employees. A recent survey dealing with outsourcing in museums will be presented as a stimulus to generating discussion about how ICOM, as a global museum network, should explore to what extent this trend influences the sector and how future developments can be foreseen and managed.
15:00 Pecha Kucha presentations
15:01 Iveta Ruskule (Latvia)
Title: Outsourcing Creativity: Opportunities and Challenges in Collaborating with External Creative Professionals in Museum Exhibition Development
15:08 Liesel Gentelli (Australia)
Title: “You know what would really be interesting.?” Optimising the outsourcing of scientific research in museums
15:15 Han Jiang (UK / China)
Title: From Contract to Collaboration: Towards Sustainable Outsourcing in Museum Digitisation
15:22 Konstantinos Chatziantoniou (Saudi Arabia)
Title: The Power of Independence Through Educating Unskilled Employees to Highly Skilled Professionals at Ithra Museum
15:29 Alia Kuznetsova (Russia)
Title: Organizational Consulting in the Gestalt Approach: Outsourcing for Changes
15:36 Shin-Chieh Tzeng (Taiwan)
Title: A Perfect Match? Comparative Research into the Contracting Out System of Public Museums in the UK and Taiwan
15:43 Mariko Takibata (Japan)
Title: Background and Issues of Outsourcing in Japanese Museums
15:50 Q & A session: Discussion with presenters and keynotes
EXPO DUBAI VENUE DAY – OFF
15 November 2025 10.00 – 18.00
Theme 2: Future scoping: In conversation with young museum leaders of the future
9:00 Transport from the point in the City Centre Dubai to Expo Venue
10:00 SESSION ONE moderated by Anne- Marie Gilis (INTERCOM)
Emerging next – step leaders: Museum Leadership House Workshop
The takeaways of the meeting with emerging leaders: Museum Leadership House 2025 held in Dubai prior to the triennial conference will be presented in order to provide a dynamic and engaging platform to further develop the leadership conversation with future and emerging museum leaders. The proposed structure of the workshop will be presented consisting of three distinctive and interconnected sections – Foundation, Provocation and Activation which will enable an exploration of leadership challenges in a dynamic conversation with the audience.
Workshop led by: Sofia Widmann (MLH), Olga Tykhonova (MLH) and Anne- Marie Gilis (INTERCOM)
10:30 Presentations moderated by Anne- Marie Gilis (INTERCOM)
10:30 Jianjun Ye (UK)
Title: Gaming Profits, Cultural Gains: Nitroplus’s Innovative Funding Model for Museums
10:40 Sunghee Cho (South Korea)
Title: Essential Competencies for Young Professionals in the Era of Digital Transformation
10:50 Francesca Bacci (Italy / UAE)
Title: Preparing Tomorrow’s Museum Leaders: A Gulf-Responsive Educational Framework for the 21st Century
11:00 Q & A session: Discussion with presenters and keynotes
11:10 NETWORKING COFFEE BREAK
11:00 SESSION TWO moderated by Cristina Vannini (INTERCOM)
12.00 Panel with ICOM Arab – Existing and emerging museum leaders in the Middle East
Panellists: Echcherki DAHMALI, President of ICOM Arab – Dr Othman Moamen, head of Museums Sector in Egypt, Rashad Bukhash, President of the Association of the Protection of Heritage in UAE (Dubai), Dr. Fatema Hassan Al Sulaiti, ICOM Qatar
12:30 Presentations
12:30 Amal Ibrahim (Egypt)
Title: Building Future Museum Leaders: Capacity Building and Knowledge Exchange at the Grand Egyptian Museum
12:40 Asmaa Hussein Abdelhamied Mahmoud (Egypt)
Title: Empowering Emerging Professionals for Museum Leadership to Ensure Sustainability in Rapidly Changing Environments
12:50 Lamya Al Nuaimi (UAE)
Title: Brand and Innovative Partnerships
13:00 Q & A session: Discussion with presenters and keynotes
13:15 LUNCH BREAK
14:15 SESSION THREE moderated by Martha Ikabongo (INTERCOM)
14:15 Panel with ICOM SEE: How to integrate emerging leaders into ICOM
Panellists: Alenka Černelič Krošelj (ICOM SEE), Reena Dewan (INTERCOM), Damon Monzavi (ICOMON); Marine Mkrtchyan (ICOM Armenia)
14:45 Presentations
14:45 Edward Ayres de Abreu (Portugal)
Title: Rebuilding a Museum and Its Team: The Power of Listening and Democratic Leadership
14:55 Jude De Wolff – Finies (Dutch Caribbean / Bonaire)
Title: Strategic Representation and Cultural Diplomacy in Practice in the Dutch Caribbean
15:05 Anareli Acosta (Mexico)
Title: New Voices Out of the Vault: Reimagining Central Bank Museums Through Inclusive and Emerging Leadership
15:15 Q & A session: Discussion with presenters and keynotes
15:30 Addressing turbulent times – related to the ICOM statement of peace:
Yuliia Vaganova, Vice Chair of ICOM Ukraine, Director of the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Arts
Title: Navigating Museums Through Peace and War: Ethical Dilemmas
15:40 BREAK
16:00 ANNUAL MEETING OF ICs INTERCOM / ICOMON
NON-MEMEBERS VISIT EXPO DUBAI
18:00 Return to the Dubai City Centre