New ASEMUS Chair Interviewed on Irish Radio

Following her election as new Chairperson of the ASEMUS Executive Committee at the recent ASEMUS General Conference in Vienna, Fionnuala Croke was interviewed on Irish radio show The Pat Kenny Show on 30 September. The 10-minute interview addresses both her work as Director of the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, and the activities and aims of ASEMUS. The network's goals of promoting understanding of cultures between Asia and Europe are discussed. The Chester Beatty Library provides a good example of this, by contributing to the preservation, care and dissemination of collections from Asia, Europe and other world regions, and engaging with migrant communities in Ireland. In Fionnuala Croke's own words, 'Knowing more about other cultures we know more about ourselves. Museums can be the great facilitators between cultures'. Ms Croke describes ASEMUS as an example of very active collaboration, a conversation between museums, and goes on to introduce some of the network's forthcoming priorities. The interview also serves to present the background of the Chester Beatty Library, the story of Sir Alfred Chester Beatty and the museum's current exhibition Chester Beatty's A to Z: from Amulet to Zodiac. You can hear the interview here:

• 1st part: http://www.newstalk.ie/player/listen_back/13240/13172/30th_September_2014_-_The_Pat_Kenny_Show_Part_2 (forward to minute 53:54)
• 2nd part: http://www.newstalk.ie/player/listen_back/13240/13173/30th_September_2014_-_The_Pat_Kenny_Show_Part_3 (between minutes 00:00 and 02:30).