The ICOM-ITC April 2019 Training workshop was launched at the Jianfu Palace of the Palace Museum on April 10th. The opening ceremony was hosted by Mr. Yan Hongbin, Deputy Director of the Palace Museum. It was addressed respectively by Dr. Wang Xudong, Director of the Palace Museum and Mr. Guan Qiang, Deputy Director and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH). Dr. An Laishun, Vice President of ICOM, Vice Chair and Secretary General of ICOM-China; Mr. Claude Faubert, ICOM-ITC Coordinator; Dr. Richard Kremer, Associate Professor of History of Dartmouth College; Mr. Gabriel Bevilacqua, Collection Manager of Instituto Moreira Salles; and Ms. Kristie Sibul, Director of Preservation and Photography of the Nationalmuseum in Sweden also attended the ceremony.

The Opening Ceremony

Mr. Yan Hongbin presided over the ceremony

Dr. Wang Xudong said that this was the third day he worked at the Palace Museum and he was very pleased to attend this ceremony. He reviewed the development of the ICOM-ITC, and introduced the basic information of this workshop. He also pointed out that the museum collections were facing challenges nowadays, and how to manage museum collections safely and effectively was a topic that would never be outdated. Mr. Guan Qiang emphasized the importance of collection management for the museum, shared the efforts and achievements of the SACH in the conservation and utilization of cultural relics, and pointed out that cooperation and communication between museums could facilitate the conservation and inheritance of cultural relics, while the ICOM-ITC program was a good example.

Dr. Wang Xudong addressed the ceremony

Mr. Guan Qiang addressed the ceremony

After the opening ceremony, Mr. Guan Qiang gave a lecture on ‘The Management and Challenges of Museum Collections Management in China’, sharing management strategies in Chinese museums and discussing new theories, techniques and methods of museum collection with the participants. In the following nine days, the lecturers and participants will go through a series of topics including collection documentation, long-term care of collections and the importance of management policies for collections, sharing successful examples in museum collection management around the world. Participants will also have opportunities to discuss and explore these topics through reading artifacts, mini workshops and museum visits.

Mr. Guan Qiang gave a lecture

Participants from the ICOM-ITC April 2019 Training Workshop

This is the 12th regular training workshop that the ICOM-ITC held in China, themed as the "Challenges of Museum Collections Today". The ICOM-ITC invites 8 lecturers from China, the United States, Brazil and Estonia, and recruits 28 participants, including 12 Chinese participants and 16 international participants from Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. By welcoming two participants from Belgium and Russia for the first time, the ICOM-ITC has expanded its training coverage to 74 countries around the world.