ICOM Award for Sustainable Development Practice in Museums

ICOM Award for Sustainable Development Practice in Museums
Consultancy work to develop the first international museum award in sustainable development
In 2023, I was commissioned by the International Council of Museums to support it to develop the modalities for a new Award for Sustainable Development Practice in Museums, an initiative launched by the ICOM President Emma Nardi.
Working with the ICOM Secretariat, I helped develop the application and submission process, eligibility process, and communications regarding the award. The Award is the first international award for museums on the sustainable development theme.
More than an award, it is a platform for the sharing of museums’ work, a learning opportunity, and an advocacy tool for ICOM to demonstrate the many diverse contributions of museums to sustainable development.
Alongside the application and submission process, I worked with ICCROM to develop and deliver a capacity building programme for applicants and the jury, as well as capacity building for ICOM bodies involved in the selection and validation of potential applications.

This work built on my earlier involvement in embedding sustainable development and the SDGs into ICOM, undertaken as part of a Working Group in Sustainability, an initiative launched in 2018 by the former ICOM President. As part of that work, I helped to draft the Sustainability Resolution adopted at the ICOM 2019 conference in Kyoto. I also helped to organise a panel session on sustainability at ICOM Kyoto, and presented my work there. From 2020-22, I helped to draft the template ICOM 2030 Action Plan, a template that any part of ICOM and any museum can use to set goals, make plans, and monitor and communicate sustainable development activity.