The role of communications in shaping museum culture

A 2-Part Webinar Series by ICOM COMMS in cooperation with ICOM ICTOP, ICOM INTERCOM, “Museum Communication” Working Group of ICOM Italy, NEMO, University of Genoa – Innovation Hub Tourism & Heritage UniGe-Ulysseus, Ulysseus WP6 “Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, and Community Engagement”.

Museums today face a double challenge: to create change, they must navigate contested narratives, colonial legacies, and rising demands for inclusive representation. But transformation begins at home. Internally, museums also confront a troubling reality – workplace toxicity, burnout, and systemic inequities that undermine their stated values. In both arenas, communication is a fundamental tool for preventing and addressing harassment, racism, and discrimination.

SESSION 1: 18 May 2026, h. 5-6 pm CEST

SPEAKING OUT: Strategic Communication to Promote Inclusive Narratives in Museums.
How can museums use their unique public platform to challenge discrimination – without alienating audiences or oversimplifying complex histories? This session explores the museum as an ethical communicator: an institution that takes positions, mediates conflict, and builds trust with diverse communities through the stories it tells.

• Richard Sandell, Professor of Museum Studies and Co-Director of the Research Centre for Museums and Galleries (RCMG) at University of Leicester (UK)
• Sandro Debono, Museum thinker, academic, and advisor based in the Mediterranean island of Malta; Executive Board Member of NEMO Network of European Museum Organisations
• Rebecca Thonander, Communications Officer at NEMO. Invited case study: the “LGBTQIA+ inclusion in European museums. An incomplete guideline”
• Special Guest: Darko Babić, Chair of ICOM ICTOP
• Moderator: Cristina Chiaiso, Research Fellow at the University of Genoa, Board Member of ICOM COMMS, Coordinator of the Museum Communication Working Group of ICOM Italy

 

 

 

SESSION 2: 23 JUNE 2026, h. 5-6 pm CEST 

LOOKING INWARD: Strategic Communication to address inconvenient truths.
Museums publicly champion equity, diversity, and inclusion. But what does the data say about how they treat their own workers? This session turns the lens inward to examine how internal communication systems – reporting channels, equity data, accountability mechanisms – can transform organisational culture and protect the people who make museum work possible.

• François Mairesse, Professor of Museology and Economics of Culture, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle; UNESCO Chair for the Study of Museum Diversity and its Evolution; former President of ICOFOM
• Liz Levine/Mia Locks, Museums Moving Forward (MMF)
• Jessica Beatriz Ramírez Rivera, Operation Manager, Museo Casa Kahlo, Ciudad de México
• Special Guest: Maria Cristina Vannini, Chair of ICOM INTERCOM
• Moderator: Cristina Chiaiso, Research Fellow at the University of Genoa, Board Member of ICOM COMMS, Coordinator of the Museum Communication Working Group of ICOM Italy

The project is aligned with the International Museum Day 2026 theme “Museums Uniting a Divided World”, promoted by ICOM, which highlights the potential of museums to act as bridges across cultural, social, and geopolitical divides, fostering dialogue, understanding, inclusion and peace within and between communities worldwide.

Join us in these two open conversations to support museum professionals in their workplaces. It’s a proactive framework for institutional integrity: understanding what is happening and what we can do about it.

Who should attend: Museum directors, communication and marketing professionals, HR and governance officers, curators, educators, members of ICOM International Committees working on training, management, and ethics, and students.

What you will take away: A conceptual framework connecting external narrative strategy to internal organizational culture, grounded in cutting-edge research and real-world data.