International Museum Day: 2022 Theme: ‘The Power of Museums’

Myanmar celebrated the International Museum Day 2022 falling on the 18th of May at the National Museum (Nay Pyi Taw). Deputy Minister for the Religion Affairs and Culture Dr. Moe Zaw Tun attended the ceremony and called for cooperation to implement one of the social affairs objectives of the State Administration Council which is ‘To respect and promote the customs and traditions of all National peoples and preserve and safeguard their cultural heritage and national characteristics’ with the power of museums.

International Museum Day (IMD) is an international day held annually on or around 18 May, coordinated by the International Council of Museums (ICOM). The event highlights a specific theme which changes every year reflecting a relevant theme or issue facing museums internationally.

The first International Museum Day took place in 1977, coordinated by ICOM. IMD was established following the adoption of a resolution by ICOM to create an annual event "with the aim of further unifying the creative aspirations and efforts of museums and drawing the attention of the world public to their activity."

Director-General, Department of Archaeology and National Museum, Dr. Kyaw Oo Lwin  said “May 18 is the International Museum Day held annually, coordinated by the International Council of Museums (ICOM). Being a member of the ICOM, we, Myanmar, get many advantages including connection with international libraries, participation in the annual conference and technical and experience exchange.”

This ceremony continued with reading out 3 papers titles ‘Review on traditional museum and nature-based museum’, ‘Museum Interpretation’ and ‘Museum incident management’. It also included a question and answer session.

Deputy Director, National Museum (Nay Pyi Taw), Kalayar Chaw Su said “My paper for this International Museum Day celebration is ‘Review on traditional museum and nature-based museum’. Nowadays, museum plays an important role. My paper is to help the people know more about Myanmar’s traditions, cultures and customs.”

Staff Officer, National Museum (Nay Pyi Taw), Ei Zin Thu said “My paper for this International Museum Day celebration is ‘Museum Interpretation’. It’s about to preserve and safeguard the customs and traditions of all National peoples and their cultural heritage.”

Myanmar became a member of the International Council of Museums in 2016 and has been celebrating the International Museum Day since 2017. This year, the theme of the International Museum Day is ‘The Power of Museums’.