On June 17, 2021, the International Council of Museums (ICOM) shared its 2020 Annual Report, a glimpse of many activities and projects that were held within the museum network for the year 2020.
The year 2020 was indeed a challenging period for the entire world. Museums and the museum community were not exempted from experiencing the unexpected restrictions and economic crisis that occurred due to the global pandemic. Despite these challenges, ICOM continued with its activities and recorded good successes on different levels across its network. ICOM’s activities for 2020 revolved mainly around maintaining safety during the times of the COVID-19 pandemic, building community resilience, as well as innovating in community outreach in order to boost the participation of its members.
Last year, ICOM recorded an outstanding increase in the use of digital platforms, as most activities to foster the advocacy for the protection of cultural heritage were held online and reached a wider audience. In 2020, ICOM launched two global surveys for museums situations facing the COVID-19, four online seminars for discussions on the challenges facing contemporary museums and several online activities on 2020 International Museum Day. During the pandemic, ICOM's Facebook and Twitter followers increased 23% and 21% and Instagram followers increased 90%. Many National Committees expanded and diversified their digital presence, and numerous innovative projects were taken on social media platforms. For more details on 2020 ICOM Annual Report, please refer to ICOM website.
Source: ICOM