The International Council of Museums Committee for Museums and Collections of Natural History (ICOM NATHIST) and the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) have signed a memorandum of understanding to advance the aims of both organizations. Among the initiatives covered in the MOU are:
- Mutual ex officio representation on the respective Boards of the two parties
- Collaboration on conferences
- Joint initiatives and projects
A major impetus for creating this agreement is to give greater weight to the natural history museum sector in the face of increasing global environmental degradation, ever greater interest and engagement from the public and pressure to increase activity with fewer resources.
Dr. Eric Dorfman, President of ICOM NATHIST, cited the benefits of an arrangement like this. “This agreement will give each of our organizations the chance to expand our focus, while keeping true to our core missions. We’re delighted to welcome the presence of a like-minded group in our midst and look forward to making a contribution to their endeavors.”
Andrew Bentley, President of SPNHC said, “This is a great opportunity for the collections community to function in a more coordinated fashion and collaborate on issues of joint concern and mutual benefit. With numerous other such agreements in place with other like-minded societies and organizations, we have the possibility of creating a world-wide group that can advocate for collections and create meaningful relationships that can have a huge impact on the health and future of collections.”
SPNHC has engaged Kelly Sendall of the Royal BC Museum in Canada as our representative to ICOM NATHIST. The SPNHC website has considerable resources and is well worth getting to know.