ICOM Croatia and Dvor Trakošćan hosted the first special project ICOM training forum

“When you think you have everything under control, it means you’re not moving fast enough

The well-known marketing consultant and MPR member from UK, Cecilia Martin, reminded the participants of the forum for training museum professionals of this saying by Mario Andretti. Her presentation additionally inspired the participants to think about the competencies needed for adaptive management of institutions in the time of rapid changes in the working and natural environments. ICOM Croatia together with the Museum Dvor Trakošćan hosted the meeting with the support of the international ICOM committees INTERCOM, MPR, ICTOP and ICOMON and with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture and Media and with the participation of ICOMOS Croatia members.

On May 23, 2024, the forum was jointly opened by the Chair of INTERCOM Goranka Horjan and the Chair of ICOM Croatia Željka Modrić Surina. The topic: “How to reduce museum business risks with adaptive management models in the area of capacity building, branding and museum investments” is a first step to implement the ICOM Special Project CAPACITY BUILDING – BRANDING – FUNDRAISING AS KEY LEADERSHIP STATIONS TOWARDS SUCCESSFUL TRAINING PROGRAMME FOR YOUNG PROFESSIONALS. The next step will be the small scale training in Šibenik, Croatia in partnership with Europa Nostra, and then the main conference in Jakarta will be organized in partnership with Indonesia Hidden Heritage also supported by EUNIC. This is an excellent example of networking on a global scale and completely in line with the ambition of ICOM to implement the new Strategic Plan.

The meeting in Trakošćan, Croatia gathered distinguished international and domestic experts, as well as museum workers who registered to take part in the training. The goal of the meeting was to consider strategies for reducing risks in museum operations through adaptive management models, with a special emphasis on capacity building, branding and museum investments. The forum was officially opened by Anuška Deranja Crnokić, director of the Directorate for Museums, Archives and Libraries of the Ministry of Culture and Media of Republic of Croatia, which also financially supported the organization of this event.

International presenters, including Dr. Asma Ibrahim, ICOMON President and founder of the State Museum of the Central Bank of Pakistan, and MPR member, Cecilia Martín from Great Britain, branding consultant and founder of the Cultural Connection (CC) network, contributed to diverse perspectives and expertise. Dr. Ibrahim, who built a respectable international career and was a Fulbright scholar, shared her experience how the complete refurbishment of the national museum was done. Today she is the general director of the national museum she founded. Cecilia Martín, who helps museums and cultural organizations to find new ways to connect with the public, is a visiting lecturer at prestigious institutions such as the University of Barcelona, Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Arts. Her attitude to focus on branding with a purpose was a good starting point for the workshop.

Special emphasis of the meeting was on capacity building of young professionals. Students of the Faculty of Philosophy and the Technical Polytechnic in Zagreb had the opportunity to participate in presentations, discussions and training workshops. Well-known Croatian experts presented their views on building resilience in museums. ICTOP member Darko Babić, Head of the Department of Museology at the University of Zagreb focused on the formal educational models that students get during the Museum Studies at the Zagreb University. Tatjana Vlahović, Director of the Croatian Museum of Natural History, presented a study case how multiple financial sources were used to complete on of the largest museum renovations in Zagreb after the 2020 earthquakes. Dražen Arbutina, President of ICOMOS Croatia, shared his opinion on using the protected monuments for museums and what challenges it may may cause.

The project coordinator, Goranka Horjan, who is also the director of Dvor Trakošćan and president of the International Committee for Museum Management (INTERCOM), led a workshop whose topic was sustainable financing and moderated the program. The second workshop, dedicated to branding and marketing challenges, was led by Sanjin Mihelić, director of the Museum of Arts and Crafts, and Andrea Gerenčer, marketing manager. The third workshop on competencies and skills of the staff and what form of education is the best for museum professionals was led by Darko Babić,

Participation in the conference aroused great interest with over 70 participants who were actively involved. The participants came to Dvor Trakošćan from different parts of Croatia, and the forum highlighted the importance of opening new cross-sector collaborations in a modern and dynamic museum environment, which is facing numerous challenges.