2017 ICOMON Meeting Report

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December 14, 2017 – From 3-7 September 2017 the XXIV ICOMON Annual Meeting in Jakarta was held, hosted by Bank Indonesia. ICOMON thanks the organizing committee for their efficiency as well as all speakers and participants whose contribution enhanced the global profile of ICOMON by sharing diverse experiences and common challenges. Moreover, this meeting offered the opportunity to many colleagues from that geographical region to participate and present their institutions and projects. In the following, you find an overview of the annual event written by Rosmeilan K. Siagian and Dwi A. Indrasari for Bank Indonesia:

Report

The XXIV ICOMON 2017 Conference took place at Museum Bank Indonesia from 3 to 6 September 2017 at the magnificent heritage building of the former office of De Javasche Bank. The building is well preserved and currently used as Museum Bank Indonesia.

Tour at the Museum Bank Indonesia.

The conference programme was comprehensively set up by combining a paper presentation sessions, and cultural and historical tours to some of cultural-heritage sites in Jakarta and Bandung. The presentations offered a forum for participants to share knowledge and current issues as well as solving the problems encountered by participants. 

Welcoming dinner.

Prior to the conference, the participants were invited to a welcome dinner to taste the local traditional culinary while enjoying traditional dance performances accompanied by traditional musics. There was also batik making demonstration, where participants could watch, practice and learn how to make batik. The participants also enjoyed traditional batik collections exhibition. The welcome dinner, batik workshop and exhibition took place at the innercourt of the Museum.

At Central Java Pavillion – Taman Mini Indonesia.

During the cultural and historical tours, the participants were taken to tour several iconic museums in the Old Town of Jakarta (Kota Tua Jakarta), previously known as the Old Batavia (before it is Jakarta), and to Museum Taman Mini, a miniature park of the Indonesian culture representing the whole Indonesian provinces where each had its own unique traditional houses, culture and tradition. 

At Bank Indonesia Office heritage building in Bandung.

The participants were also invited to take a full-day tour to Bandung to visit Geology Museum (Museum Geologi), and Asian and African Museum (Museum Asia Afrika), as well as Saung Angklung Mang Udjo, an art centre of bamboo musical instrument. Lastly, an optional tour of art and culture to Jogyakarta or Bali, had been arranged for the participants who were interested in exploring other parts of Indonesia.

Official opening.

It is worth mentioning that the Conference was give broad coverage by the local media.

Session presentations.

The Conference Sessions

Director General of Indonesian Culture Mr. Hilmar Farid kicked off the seminar with addressing that museum sector in Indonesia is currently growing and the government of Indonesia is committed in developing this further.
As conveyed by Ms. Christel Schollaardt in the keynote speech, there are 5 types of valuation that enable us to sell our museums better, both to the public and the stakeholders. The 5 values are: the value of collections itself, the value of connecting, the value of experience, educational value, and economical value. Ms Schollaardt also proposed a very interesting idea on how to stay relevant and valuable to the society.

The participants at the Bank of Indonesia headquarters.

In the first session of the conference, we have discussed about “Museum as Communication Tools”. All the speakers stressed about the importance of museums as a tool for communicating policies, history and also as a resource centre for the society.
In the second session of the conference, we have discussed about the role of money and banking museum in public education. In this session, Ms. Pattayarach Thamwongsa and Chonchanok Phonsing, from Thailand explained about the study of audience satisfaction of Tom Yam Kung the game. The result of the tests showed that the audience gain more knowledge on the economic mechanism and can easily be understood the exhibition content. Therefore, an interactive game is indeed a useful tool to enhance communication through museums.
In the third session we discussed the development of display and technology in supporting museum as communication tools. There were 8 speakers who explained the use of advanced technology and display exploration to give more values on visitors’ experiences. It is essential to link physical exhibitions with the virtual world, and also to set up digital databases as knowledge sources for public. 

To have a look at the Conference Program, click here.

To learn more about the host, Bank Indonesia, click here.

The 2018 ICOMON Annual Meeting will take place in the Numismatic Museum in Athens from 3-6 October 2018. Further information on this event will be available on the ICOMON homepage.