Promoting education and learning are integral objectives of museums around the world. This will be the focus of the upcoming Asia-Europe Museum Network (ASEMUS) General Conference to be held at the National Museum of Korea, Seoul (13-15 September 2012).

During this Conference, museum leaders and professionals from 23 countries will be discussing new and long-term best practices of museum education from Asian and European perspectives. The speakers will be sharing their insights on:

• Policies and Strategies for Museum Education
• Museum and Communities
• Technology and Museum Education

ASEMUS Director-General, Dr Kim Youngna, said:

“Museums are committed to help people develop a lifelong engagement with art and culture. This takes place through a variety of educational programs and publications. I believe it is very timely to look back on the importance of museum education, and consider how we can make the best use out of it. In order to help ASEMUS members develop creative education programs, the theme of this general conference is on education.”

[Download] Press Release: Asia-Europe museums stand for education (PDF, 160kb)

The sharing of expertise is one of the core objectives of ASEMUS. The Network promotes professional excellence, while respecting and celebrating cultural diversity. As such the network conferences provide a platform for Asian and European museum professionals to network and learn from colleagues across the two regions. This is in line with the objective of creating one’s own strategies and ideas for innovative programmes to deepen the museum’s engagement with its audience.

On the occasion of this General Conference 2012 in Seoul, ASEMUS members will also discuss the plans of various ASEMUS projects like the ‘Mapping of Asian Collections’ and the ‘Virtual Collections of Masterpieces (VCM)’. These projects focus on enhancing the sharing of information on museum collections to make them more accessible to a wider audience.

The ASEMUS General Conference 2012 is a project co-organised by ASEMUS, The National Museum of Korea and the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF).

For more information and registration please visit the ASEMUS 2012 Seoul website.

Twitter Hashtag: #asemus2012

Date: Thursday, 12 September 2012 and Friday, 13 September 2012 Time: 9:30 am – 5.00 pm Venue: National Museum Korea, Seoul MEDIA CONTACT Ms Debasmita Dasgupta, Asia-Europe Foundation, Debasmita.dasgupta@asef.org T: +65 6874 9739, F: +65 6872 1135 PROGRAMME CONTACT Huism Tan, National Heritage Board, Huism_TAN@nhb.gov.sg REGISTRATION Na-hyun RIM, National Museum of Korea, annie1124@korea.kr -------------------------------------------------------

ABOUT THE ORGANISERS

Asia-Europe Museum Network

The Asia-Europe Museum Network (ASEMUS) is a cross-cultural network of museums from Asia and Europe with a focus on Asian heritage and collections. Set up in 2000, ASEMUS aims to facilitate the sharing of heritage expertise and collections and encourage collaborations among its members. Currently over 80 museums from 35 different countries are part of this network. For more information on ASEMUS projects and members, please visit: www.asemus.museum

The Presidency of ASEMUS is the Director-General of the National Museum of Korea and Vice-presidency is the Director of the Chester Beatty Library, Ireland. The ASEMUS Secretariat resides at the National Heritage Board, Singapore.

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The National Museum of Korea

Since its establishment as the Imperial Museum of Korean Empire in Seoul in 1909 and relocation of museum sites to local cities over the course of Japanese Colonial Period(1910-1945) and Korean War(1950-1953), the National Museum of Korea reopened on a site of 307,227 m2 (building area: 45,438 m2) in Yongsan, Seoul on October 28, 2005. Yongsan is backed by the expansive Mt. Namsan and fronted by the Han River. It is the geographic heart of the nation’s capital Seoul.

Reborn as a “cultural complex” that all Koreans could enjoy, the mission of the new NMK was now not only to preserve and display relics but also to host a variety of programs, such as the Children’s Museum and cultural events linked to exhibitions. NMK houses some 220,000 cultural properties from the prehistoric era to the Joseon Period(1392-1910). It also established Asia Gallery which is designed for a better understanding of universality and diversity of Asian cultures representing the unique characteristics of each country.

In July 2010, the museum’s permanent hall reformed and the galleries are retitled as Prehistory and Ancient History Gallery, Medieval and Early Modern History Gallery, Calligraphy and Painting Gallery, Sculpture and Crafts Gallery, Donations Gallery and Asia Gallery. www.museum.go.kr

---------------------------------------------------------- Asia-Europe Foundation

The Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) promotes greater mutual understanding between Asia and Europe through intellectual, cultural and people-to-people exchanges. Through ASEF, civil society concerns are included as a vital component of deliberations of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), which currently comprises of 46 member states plus the European Commission and the ASEAN Secretariat (www.aseminfoboard.org) ASEF was established in February 1997 by the participating governments of ASEM and has since engaged over 17,000 direct participants through more than 550 projects in the realms of economy and society, environment, education, public health, arts and culture, human rights and governance. www.asef.org

In 2012, ASEF is commemorating its 15th Anniversary and invites everyone to take part in celebrating Connected Histories, Shared Future.

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