Call for Papers: CIDOC Annual Conference 2015 | India

This year's annual conference of CIDOC, the International Committee for Documentation of the International Council of Museums (ICOM), will take place from 5 to 10 September in New Delhi, India. The conference is entitled "Documenting Diversity - Collections, Catalogue and Context". With its multitude of languages, ethnic groups and traditions, its long history, its variety of geography and ecosystems, India is undoubtedly one of the most richly diverse countries in the world. India’s museums and cultural heritage institutions assume the daunting task of recording, preserving and celebrating this heritage. The 2015 CIDOC conference focuses on the problems of documenting this diversity: the collecting practices, cataloguing methods, and contextual information that are required to deal with such varied collections, and the growing need for museums to work closely with archives, libraries and other cultural heritage institutions to achieve common goals. The aim of CIDOC’s annual conference, hosted by the National Museum Institute, Delhi, India, is to enable and encourage dialogue about information management between professionals working in different roles in museums: documentation, development, design, mediation or management. In addition to scientific and theoretical contributions, the conference also aims to function as a forum where participants can exchange practical experiences, share problems, search for solutions and find new inspiration. In the context of preparations for the conference, a call for papers has been launched. Authors are invited to address one of the conference's three sub-themes, as follows:

• Strategies and policies for documenting the diversity of culture, including e.g. national and institutional strategies for documentation; need, benefit and challenges of Open Access; creating value for museums, academia and communities, etc.
• Techniques and methods of documentation, including e.g. documenting and presenting intangible cultural heritage, telling stories with museum objects, 3D documentation in cultural heritage, Big Data, etc.
• Access and Integration - working together with archives and other heritage institutions, including e.g. access to archival sources, co-referencing, integration of material from museums and archives, etc.

Contributions for the CIDOC Annual Conference 2015 can take different forms, including scientific papers and presentations; presentations of projects; and presentations on vision and strategy. Abstracts should be sent by 8 May 2015. The conference will start with a series of workshops on 5 and 6 September, whereas the main conference will open on Monday 7 September. Parallel sessions will take place over three days, between 7 and 9 September, whereas on 10 September attendees may join an excursion. The CIDOC Annual Conference 2015 is organised by CIDOC with the National Museum Institute of History of Art, Conservation and Museology, based within the premises of the National Museum (an ASEMUS member), in New Delhi, India. For additional information about the conference and the call for papers, please visit http://www.cidoc2015.in/callforpapers.htm