what: MUSEUM International, published by UNESCO since 1948, is a major forum for the exchange of scientific and technical information on museums and cultural heritage. It is a unique space in which readers and contributors can partake of cultural diversity through heritage around the world. Now taking a fresh editorial approach, it addresses issues relating to cultural policy, ethics and practice at national and international levels.

The journal is published quarterly in five languages, Arabic, English, French, Russian and Spanish (e-journal). Special editions in national languages are produced according to theme and distributed to academic institutions in the countries concerned.

why: in its new revised form, Museum International is a forum for intellectually rigorous discussion of the ethics and practices of museums and heritage organisations. The journal aims to foster dialogue between research in the social sciences and political decision-making in a changing cultural environment, where tolerance and mutual exchange are highlighted as key elements toward sustainable development.

International in scope and cross-disciplinary in approach Museum International offers recommendations on national and international cultural policies. It fosters exchanges of expertise in the context of interdisciplinary research (anthropology, archaeology, history and art history, sociology, philosophy, museology and economy), best practices for the safeguarding and protection of the cultural heritage, and political decision-making in a cultural environment undergoing deep-seated changes.

The journal highlights the role of museums as places for reflection and production of knowledge of the heritage and culture, and provides information on debates taking place in international bodies. The experience and knowledge of all cultures are presented around selected themes, thus developing a pluralism of practices and strengthening international solidarity. It is a basic instrument of international dialogue about museum and cultural heritage.

partners: among the partnerships related with this UNESCO initiative…

• a partnership for restitution of Jewish Cultural Property in the Czech Republic: principle and reality Pavel Jirásek;



• the Nazi-Era Provenance Internet Portal: the collaboration creates a new tool for museums and researchers Helen Wechsler and Erik Ledbetter;



• an international collaboration with the Institut National du Patrimoine (INP) Geneviève Gallot and the Pan-African Museum of Music with Ferréol Constant Patrick Gassackys.