Msheireb Museums Celebrates International Museums Day

Doha, May 15 (QNA) - Msheireb Museums (MM), the new cultural destination at Msheireb Downtown Doha (MDD), celebrated International Museums Day 2018 under the theme 'Hyperconnected Museums: New Approaches, New Publics' that has been chosen by the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and International Committee for Education and Cultural Action (CECA). The celebrations took place at Bin Jelmood House located at MDD's Heritage Quarter The theme of the International Museum Day 2018 was chosen to explore today's trend of a hyper connected world. Hyper-connectivity is a term invented in 2001 to design the multiple means of communication between organizations and individuals, such as face-to-face contact, email, instant messaging, telephone or the Internet. This global network of connections becomes each day more complex, diverse and integrated. Commenting on International Museums Day, Director of MM Hafiz Ali said: "Marking this important date reiterates our commitment to supporting artistic development in Qatar, and reflects our passion to positively contribute to the flourishing global cultural scene." In his welcoming speech, he announced that Msheireb Museums was one of five entities to get the "Best Practices Award" by International Committee for Education and Cultural Action (CECA), accoupling the museums role in promoting educational initiatives and cultural events. President of CECA Milene Chiovatto conducted a presentation with the results of a two-day workshop for students, academics, and cultural leaders to commemorate this global event. During the interactive two-day workshop, participants had the chance to explore the possibility of seeing the transformation of ideas, and to go from a theoretical aspect to the practice through showing examples from around the world. Chiovatto said CECA believes in the importance of museums and their role in educating saying they are an indispensable means of linking communities, cultures and history. The event also witnessed the graduation of Msheireb Museums Friends program. Last year, Msheireb Museums Friends program was launched aiming to create cultural ambassadors by training teachers and leaders from a wide range of educational, youth associations along with students, by developing leadership skills and to help highlight the historic cultural houses. International Museums Day has been acknowledged on May 18 since 1977, with more than 36,000 museums participating in 2017 across 147 countries. The objective of International Museums Day is to raise awareness that museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace. (QNA)