Climate change: what actions can be taken by museums?
Together with the association of museums “We Are Museums” and EIT Climate-KIC, we are organizing a program “Museums Facing Extinction” in Lithuania. We have invited 20 representatives from different Lithuanian museums to participate in a 6-month program, in which climate experts and mentors will guide us in search of various solutions and ways for the museums to contribute to the issue of climate change.
The program, which is made specifically for Lithuanian museums, includes various events, workshops and virtual meetings. It was started with a conference where the representatives of the Museum of Natural History in London, the Tate Museum, the Climate Museum in London, the POLIN Museum in Poland, etc. shared the best practices and their advice on how to tackle the climate change crisis. Moreover, in the next six months, creative workshops and seminars for representatives of the Lithuanian museums will take place on a regular basis.
Lithuanian museums are still at the beginning of the road
“Museums are institutions that invite for discussions. In the face of the ecological crisis, it is the responsibility of museums to think about the sustainability of their practices – from a sustainable business model, environmentally-friendly solutions, community involvement, openness and the presence of multiple voices in the program. I understand that we are still at the beginning of the road, so the opportunity in this international program to hear examples of foreign museums, the insights by experts in addition to the discussions in search of some possible solutions on the local – city or state level – can help us follow a sustainable, responsible and environmentally-friendly road”, says Milda Ivanauskaitė, the head of MO Museum, which is organizing the program this year in Lithuania.
The continuous educational and seminar program for museum professionals in Lithuania is designed to inspire museum representatives to think about climate change in their daily activities. Representatives from the Lithuanian National, Radvila Palace Museum of Art, Lithuanian Theater, Music and Cinema Museum, National Art Gallery, Gargždai City, Utena and other museums in Lithuania participate in the program in Lithuania.
“If the international museum community unites forces to find solutions towards a better future, the impact on the planet can be phenomenal”, claims Diane Drubay, the founder of “We Are Museums” which organizes this special program for museums.
If the international museum community unites forces to find solutions towards a better future, the impact on the planet can be phenomenal.
Analysing foreign practices and looking for local solutions
The 6-month program is designed to analyse the questions about climate change both globally and locally. At the program presentation conference, representatives of foreign museums and climate change experts shared their practices as well as accomplished programs and their results. Sharing international, regional and local practices are opportunities to learn and at the same time adapt solutions that have proved to be worthy in local communities.
The organizers of the “Museums Facing Extinction” program see a huge potential of museums in terms of the climate change crisis and possible actions that they can take. From local solutions and proposals to the nearest communities/ neighbours – to becoming agents of change in regards of the climate change as well as working together with the entire international museum community.
More about “Museums Facing Extinction” program in Lithuania.
Opening of the conference
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