In news– The Ministry of Culture hosted the first-ever global summit on ‘Reimagining Museums in India’, scheduled for inauguration on February 15, 2022 in Hyderabad.
About the summit-
- The summit is a celebration in line with Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, the flagship program to mark the 75th anniversary of India’s independence and celebrate the glorious history of its people, culture, and achievements.
- It witnessed virtual participation from countries such as India, Australia, France, Italy, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.
- The online summit encompassed four broad themes, namely, Architecture and Functional Needs; Management; Collections (including Curation & Conservation practices); and, Education and Audience Engagement.
- Key objectives of the summit are:
- Sharing global best practices for museum development and management.
- Understanding the current needs of Indian museums.
- Fostering strategic partnerships between Indian and international museums.
- Developing a blueprint for renewal of museums.
- It facilitated discussions and engagements by leading luminaries, domain experts, and practitioners in the field of museum development and management from India and around the world.
- After the event, a blueprint was planned to be created for the development of new museums, nurture a renewal framework, and reinvigorate existing museums in India, based on the discussions in the Summit.
Government of India’s initiatives-
The Government of India, over the years, has been focusing on constructing new museums with engaging exhibits and content, leveraging modern technologies such as digital, augmented reality and virtual reality.
Jatan programme-
- JATAN is virtual museum builder software that enables creation of digital collection management systems for Indian museums and is deployed in several national museums across India.
- The Ministry of Culture took up the task of digitization of collections of ten (10) museums under its domain through the Jatan programme in April 2014.
Museum Grant Scheme-
- It provides financial assistance to State governments, societies, autonomous bodies, local bodies, and Trusts registered under the Societies Act for the digitization of art objects in the museums across the country for making their images/catalog available over the website for online access.
- Key components of the scheme are:
- Establishment and Development of District and Regional Museums.
- Development of Museums in State Capitals.
- Establishment and Development of Large Scale Museums in Public Private Partnership Mode.
Further reading: https://journalsofindia.com/museum-grant-scheme/
Source: AIR
