Imagining the Next Generation of Museum Professionals: Bridging Gaps, Breaking Barriers
Session A of this joint symposium, collaboratively organised by ICOFOM, ICTOP, and COMCOL, is entitled “Imagining the Next Generation of Museum Professionals: Bridging Gaps, Breaking Barriers.” Structured as a three-part symposium, the series brings together diverse perspectives on shaping the future of museum work. This session will critically explore current global practices in museum studies education and professional training, examining how theory and practice align in today’s museum sector and addressing both ethical and practical challenges.

Through a series of presentations and discussions, the symposium will engage with five central themes: Museum Studies and the Curriculum; Museology; Diversifying Programmes and Practices; Collecting as an Act of Care; and Building Sector Capacity. We aim to foster robust dialogue among scholars, practitioners, educators, and students, addressing global and community-specific needs, diversity, decolonial methodologies, participatory collecting practices, and sustainable capacity building.