UNESCO and ICOM strengthen together global museum collaboration to safeguard cultural heritage

This article was first published by UNESCO.

On 21 May 2025, UNESCO and the International Council of Museums (ICOM) formalized a strengthened partnership by signing by signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. The agreement, endorsed by UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture Ernesto R. Ottone and ICOM President Emma Nardi, marks a renewed commitment to joint action in support of museums worldwide.

The strategic partnership stresses the complementary roles of UNESCO and ICOM in promoting international standard-setting instruments regarding museum management and preservation. It reiterates their shared commitment to upholding social, educational and inter-cultural benefits fostered by museum institutions for communities worldwide. This signature comes at a timely moment as UNESCO’s 2015 Recommendation on Museums and Collections is celebrating its ten-year anniversary, having served as a global moral benchmark for museum professionals.