International project for development of museums and museum networking
Matra is a substantial, wide-ranging programme of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs designed to promote social transformation in Central and Eastern Europe. For more than 10 years Matra successfully acts in Ukraine in the number of social and humanitarian projects.
During year 2005 on behalf of the Netherlands government Netherlands Museum Association initiated and together with Ukrainian partners (Ukrainian working group) worked out the project Matra / Ukrainian Museums, aimed at the development of museums in contemporary Ukraine.
Aims of the project Matra / Ukrainian Museums are:
- To stimulate and activate implementation of innovative working methods by Ukrainian museums that will enable them to operate more effectively in the society of transformation;
- To establish and strengthen relations and cooperation between different museums, as well as between museums and local authorities;
- To broaden cultural links between Ukraine and the Netherlands, particularly between museum communities of both countries.
The project plans to organize during 2006-2008 years international conferences, seminars and workshops for museum professionals in Ukraine. Lectures and trainings will be conducted by the leading museum specialists and professional lecturers from the Netherlands together with their Ukrainian colleagues. The main task of the planned events is intensive expertise sharing in the field of contemporary museum work. The result is better understanding of both museum mission and its potential in contemporary society as well as qualitative enrichment of the range of approaches and practical methods of work.
25 museums of Ukraine representing all regions of the country are supposed to become participants of the project. The selection of museums-participants is done by the group of experts on the basis of applications filled in by museums. The sufficient potential of a museum (cognitive, psychological, human, exibitional, methodological etc), its ability and readiness to implement fruitfully the new approaches and methods of museum work served the key criterion for selection. Another important criterion is the readiness of a museum to spread actively the new knowledge and technology among other members of Ukrainian museum community that is to provide long-term and system effect of the project for the whole museum field of Ukraine.
All participants are to get together at 2 international conferences: kick-off conference (Kyiv, 2006) and final conference (Kyiv, 2008). In between the conferences each museum-participant according to its geographical situation will have an opportunity to take part in a yearly cycle of seminars (Kyiv, 2006; Lviv, 2007; Kharkiv/Dnipropetrovsk, 2008). The cycle consists of: 1) a seminar on “Contemporary Museum Management” 2) a seminar on special problem (problems) of museum work 3) a workshop for training the Ukrainian trainers on contemporary museum management.
All expenses including transportation and accommodation for the participants of the project will be covered by Matra programme.
In order to inform wide public about events and results of the project Matra / Museums in Ukraine as well as for publication of project materials a special website was launched in spring 2006: www.matramuseums.org.ua
