International conference on museum concludes with recommendations
The International Conference on Museums concluded on Tuesday at the Oman Across Ages Museum under the auspices of Nasr bin Hamoud al Kindi, Secretary-General of the Royal Court Affairs and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Museum.
In its final statement, the conference provided a series of key recommendations aimed at reinforcing the integrated management of cultural heritage that includes advancing digital documentation, oral storytelling, and institutional partnerships to solidify the role of museums as living memory hubs and sustainable drivers of cultural and tourism development.
Dr Mohammed bin Ali al Balushi, Head of the Scientific Committee, delivered the closing statement emphasising the importance of developing multilingual and multimedia museum programmes to enhance visitor experience, expanding participation in both national and international cultural tourism routes, and integrating museums into tourism strategies through innovative models such as archaeological site museums and intangible heritage museums. These approaches aim to safeguard cultural diversity and stimulate local economies.
The conference recommended anchoring museums within urban and tourism planning frameworks as creative, interactive centres capable of supporting local economic activity. It also called for leveraging cultural entrepreneurship and digital transformation to create smart museum models that generate sustainable income, support economic diversification and encourage participatory governance and stronger public and private community partnerships.
In the cultural and educational sphere, the conference highlighted the need to repurpose museums as interactive learning spaces that promote cultural citizenship and link cultural diversity with local curricula and educational programmes. Institutional partnerships with educational and professional bodies were also encouraged to build specialised capacities and produce high quality cultural content that links learning with tourism.
Regarding digital technologies, the conference urged museums to adopt integrated digital strategies based on artificial intelligence and modern tools to deepen visitor engagement and expand cultural and tourism impact.
Museums were encouraged to transform historical figures into digital icons that connect memory with innovation and speak to global digital-native audiences.
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