DUHANBE, May 18, 2013, Asia-Plus — Tajikistan this year participates in an international action “Night of Museums” for the first time.
“Night of Museums” is an event, which announces International Museum Day in the spirit of an all-day and all-night museum week. The theme for 2012 is Museums (memory + creativity = social change).
In Dushanbe, the action will be held at recently opened new National Museum of Tajikistan. A conference entitled “The National Museum of Tajikistan” will be held and lectures will be given on history of establishment of museums in Tajikistan. Documentary “Hulbuk” will be shown at the museum today evening. Besides, interactive games and quizzes for children and master classes on ceramics painting will be organized at the museum today evening. All these activities will be followed by the illumination show “Investigating Space.”
International Museum Day (IMD) is a celebration that held every year on or around May 18, coordinated by the International Council of Museums (ICOM). The event highlights a specific theme that changes every year and that is at the heart of the international museum community’s preoccupations. International Museum Day provides the opportunity for museum professionals to meet the public and alert them as to the challenges that museums face. IMD serves as a platform to raise public awareness on the role museums play in the development of society today, on an international level.
Each year, all museums in the world are invited to participate in IMD to promote the role of museums around in the world, creating unique, enjoyable and free activities around a theme discussed within the ICOM community for this special day. Since its creation in 1977, International Museum Day has gained increasing attention. In 2009, International Museum Day attracted the participation of 20,000 museums hosting events in more than 90 countries. In 2010, 98 countries participated in the celebration, with 100 in 2011, and 30,000 museums in 129 countries in 2012. In 2011, the official IMD poster was translated into 37 languages. In 2012, this number jumped by one to 38.
