International Council of Museums

Natural History CommitteeNewsletter

No 31 ISSN 1814-6058 April 2010

NATHIST annual meeting 2010 in Shanghai (China)November 8th – 11th

"Biodiversity and Climate change – a multicultural approach"

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Shanghai Science & Technology Museum - 上海科技馆Dear colleagues, members, guests and friends of ICOM-NATHIST,

The 22nd General Conference & 25th General Assembly of ICOM is held in November 7th to 12th in Shanghai, China and I would like to invite you all to this very unique meeting of museum professionals from all over the world.

The theme of this General Conference is

“Museums for Social Harmony”

The Conference Emblem reflects that

„Museums are the central place housing human civilizations and wisdom.        The profundity and infinity of human’s civilizations and wisdom will be shown to the world through professional cooperation organized by ICOM between world museums of all sorts and fields, and over the platform for communication offered to museum professionals coming from various cultures and economies, with an aim to promote the museum cause. It was based upon this idea that the emblem of ICOM 2010 was designed. “ICOM” is represented in one bold and graceful traditional Chinese brushstroke; the smart linking of “CO” comes to be “∞”, a signal for infinity, symbolizing the profundity of human civilizations and wisdom, and the motto of the ICOM General Conference – exchange, promote, develop and share.         The Chinese brushstroke in the red colour imparts a distinctive and Chinese characteristic to the simple and dignified composition. The whole design expresses the sincerity and promise of China to host the ICOM 22nd General Conference.“http://icom2010.org.cn/icomwbs/webpages/en/about/emblem.jsp

During this 22nd General Conference in Shanghai we will meet for our annual meeting NATHIST2010.

For a long time the colleagues from the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum have been active in our committee and have established a very close friendship with many members of ICOM-NATHIST.It is a great honor and a special privilege that Prof. Xiao-Ming WANG, Director General Shanghai Science & Technology Museum, has invited ICOM-NATHIST to meet in his museum for two days. Dear Prof. Wang, thank you so much for your cordiality and exceptional hospitality!NATHIST is one of the few International Committees which have got the chance to meet their Chinese colleagues directly in a museum, and we say “thank you” to you and your whole team, especially to Dr. Xingbao Jin, Mr. Li Wei, and Ms. Delphi Fang (conference coordinator for ICOM-NATHIST).

http://www.sstm.org.cn/structure/english2/eindex

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http://icom.museum/pdf/E_news2009/p6_2009-2.pdf

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The theme for the ICOM-NATHIST meeting is

"Biodiversity and Climate change – a multicultural approach"

Perception of climate change in the various countries is different. Natural History Museums mostly have neglected the topic of climate change so far and should focus on this topic in the near future. When focusing on climate changewe also should consider the impact on Nature and society and its sustainable development.

Evolution creates biodiversity. And biodiversity is vital for human survival.Consequently, how to maintain biodiversity and how to cope with the climate change will be the main topics and challenges for the next decades – not only for Natural History Museums throughout the world, but also for mankind in general as an essential precondition for our survival on earth. Our cultural and natural heritage and its development result in the construction of “Eco Cities / Green Cities” – as main “Eco-system” for mankind.

Information about ICOM 2010 General Conference underhttp://icom.museum/general-conference2010.html (ICOM homepage)http://icom2010.org.cn/icomwbs/index.jsp (ICOM 2010 Shanghai China homepage)

Invitation letters

You will get the invitation letter to apply for a visa for China directly from the ICOM 2010 Shanghai Organizing Committee, when you have ticked “invitation letter YES” at your REGISTRATION FORM.

If you need an invitation letter for your administration in advance (before registering to the General Conference) please send an email to gerhard.winter@senckenberg.de. This invitation letter will not be valid to apply for a visa to China.

Excursion to Hangzhou (B) http://www.icom2010.org.cn/icomwbs/webpages/en/activity/b8.jsp(This website will be updated soon)

There will be buses to take the participants from the hotel to the railway station. The distance to Hangzhou is about 200 km and it will take about 1 and half hours to arrive at Hangzhou railway station. Buses will pick up the participants at Hangzhou railway station and go to Xixi Wetland Museum in a rural nature preserve just outside of Hangzhou.From there we will take boats and in about 60 minutes we arrive at Zhejiang Museum of Natural History (http://english.zmnh.com/detail.php?ID=5).Both museums are new and unique in their architecture.We will have lunch before or after the boat ride (not decided where and when).  4

After visiting the Zhejiang Museum of Natural History the buses will take us back to the railway station and we go back to Shanghai by train.

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Workshops

During the annual meeting 2009 in Stralsund we established a new structure with parallel workshops. These workshops were very successful, and therefore we will keep them as an efficient tool for discussing selected themes face-to-face with colleagues from all over the world in small groups.

At present we have four proposals for workshops:

Biodiversity – DioramasThe role of habitat groups and their educational value for biodiversity may be discussed in this workshop.(See newsletter no 29 “The important role of Natural History dioramas in biological learning”http://www.icom-nathist.de/icom/nl_29.pdf)

EthicsThe very active NATHIST working group on ETHICS (chaired by Eric Dorfman) has developed an addition to complement the ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums by addressing issues that are relevant to the life and earth sciences more detailed than it has been done thus far. We will discuss the latest news.

Climate Change Exhibition 2012 (CCE2012)During a workshop in Stralsund 2009 (chaired by Volker Mosbrugger) the idea of coordinated exhibitions on climate change in Natural History Museums all over the world on the occasion of the 3rd Earth Summit (2012) was evolved. It would be great if these exhibitions could be opened at the date of the International Museums Day 2012. We will continue to develope this project during the workshop.

Museums conceptsAt present many new Natural History Museums are under development. Colleagues will present their concepts and share their ideas with other colleagues.

Business meeting

On Wednesday, Nov 10th from 1 to 3.30 p.m. we will have the annual business meeting of ICOM-NATHIST at the Shanghai Science & Technology Museum.

You will get the triennial report from the chair, secretary and treasurer and the reports of all working groups on their activities.

Moreover the election for the next board of NATHIST (2010-2012) will be held. Some of the present board members who are now in their second term - according to the Statutes for International Committees – cannot continue in the same position.

Therefore we want to encourage all members of ICOM-NATHIST to think about joining the ICOM-NATHIST board. In a separate newsletter – which will be sent out in May - you will get all the relevant information about the procedure how to become candidate for the next board.6

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Please register in two steps:

Registration 1. Step - ICOM General Conference

You have to register for the ICOM 2010 General Conference officially through the ICOM 2010 Shanghai China homepage: http://icom2010.org.cn/

We suggest that you load down the REGISTRATION FORM in your preferred language from this web page as xls-file, complete it and add your signature.

You can select between

At the end of the registration page you can “Download registration form” as xls-file.

Chinese version: http://icom2010.org.cn/icomwbs/download/cn-registration.xlsEnglish version: http://icom2010.org.cn/icomwbs/download/en-registration.xlsFrench version: http://icom2010.org.cn/icomwbs/download/fr-registration.xlsSpanish version: http://icom2010.org.cn/icomwbs/download/es-registration.xls

[Example for English speaking colleagues:]

Under A. Delegation Details (required)Please tick clearly NATHIST on the list of International Committees.

Under C. Excursion DayPlease tick C8 “Hangzhou(B)”

Under D. AccommodationPlease tick D7 Parkview Hotel (Recommend hotel for NATHIST members, see page 6)

Please send the REGISTRATION FORM back as attachment to an email to the given email-address zhujia@jjtravel.com for English speaking members

and you will get within a few days a confirmation and an invitation letter, if you have ticked “invitation letter YES”.

We suggest this procedure, as the also available online registration is not always working properly.

Registration 2. step - NATHIST meeting

As second step please fill out the NATHIST ANNUAL MEETING Registration form (last page) and send it back to guixl@sstm.org.cn or pucca_no18@hotmail.com

Please, indicate clearly which meetings of ICOM-NATHIST you will join and if you will give a presentation or short communication.

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Recommended hotel

We recommend for all members of NATHIST

Parkview Hotel (4star with 5star service)

Please book this hotel not directly at the hotel, but with the REGISTRATION FORM, as there is a contingent for the General Conference which is not available directly.

The Parkview Hotel is very convenient for NATHIST members, as it is only 1 km from Shanghai Science & Technology Museum (walking distance)and a shuttle bus service is available to EXPO Conference centre ( 8 km, about 30 minutes)

Parkview Hotel No. 555 Dingxiang Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai, PRCTel: +86 21 61621118 Fax: +86 21 61621119http://www.parkviewhotel.cn/english/hotelinfo.html

Shanghai Science and Technology Museum from ExploreShanghai’s “Metropedia” Metro Map http://www.exploreshanghai.com/metro/

This newsletter (no 31) is available at the ICOM-NATHIST website under:http://www.icom-nathist.de/icom/nl_31.pdf as pdf.file

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ICOM–NATHIST Delphi Fang (Shanghai), Li Jianjun (Bejing) & Gerhard Winter (chairperson NATHIST)

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Draft program - overview

ICOM-NATHIST November 8th

Meeting atEXPOConference Center

14.00-17.00

14.00-14.10 Welcome Chair NATHIST Gerhard Winter14.10-14.20 Welcome Prof Meng NHM of China, Beijing14.20-14.30 Welcome Prof Wang – SSTM, Shanghai14.30-17.00 Keynote speakers to NATHIST conference theme14:30-15.00 2 keynote speakers from China15.00-15.30 15.30-16.00 2 keynote speakers from other countries16.00-16.30 16.30-17.00 Discussion

November9th

Meeting atShanghai Science & Technology Museum

09.00-17.00

09.00-10.15 Presentation by participants in different sessions Presentations - 10 minutes & 5 min., discussion10.15-10-45 Coffee break

10.45-12.00 Workshops- Biodiversity – Dioramas- Ethics- Climate Change Exhibition 2012 (CCE2012)- Museums concepts

12.00-13.00 Lunch

13.00-15.30 Workshops continued15.30-16.00 Coffee break

16.30-17.30 Presentation of WorkshopsEvening Welcome dinner at SSTM

November10th

Meeting atShanghai Science & Technology Museum

09.00-17.30

09.00-10.15 Presentation of the new Natural History Museum of Shanghai10.15-10-45 Coffee break

10.45-12.00 Discussion about the concept of the new Natural History Museum of Shanghai

12.00-13.00 Lunch

13.00-15.30 Business meeting- reports from chair, secretary, treasurer- reports from Working groups- miscellaneous- elections of new board

15.30-16.00 Coffee break

16.00-17.30 Visit at collections and exhibition

November11th

Excursion to Hangzhou “Hangzhou (B)” Xixi Wetland Museum Zhejiang Natural History Museum

The welcome dinner as well as all luncheons and coffee breaks will be provided by SSTM.

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REGISTRATION - PRESENTATION OF A PAPER or A SHORT COMMUNICATIONPlease printed this page and tick & fill in appropriate and send it by mail or as email attachment

O I will attend the meeting of ICOM-NATHIST in Shanghai, China 8th -11th, 2010 and know that I have to register for the 22nd General Conference officially in addition. O Nov 8th afternoon O Nov 9th morning O Nov 10th morning O Nov 9th afternoon O Nov 10th afternoon

O Nov 9th Welcome dinner

O I will present a paper (10 minutes only) on Nov 9th, related to the conference theme Deadline for the abstract (about 300-400 words) and a CV is before August 30th , 2010 O I will present a short communication (5 minutes only) during a workshop on Nov 9th. Deadline for the abstract (about 200 words) and a CV is before August 30th , 2010Title

O I am interested in the workshop:O Biodiversity- Dioramas O EthicsO CCE2012 O Museums concepts

Name

Institution

Address

Country

Fax

Email

O I am a member of ICOM-NATHIST O I am a member in another International Committee of ICOM: __________________________

O Other ______________________________________________________________________

ICOM membership number:

Date: Signature:

Please return this form as soon as possible As email attachment to guixl@sstm.org.cn or pucca_no18@hotmail.com

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NATHIST ANNUAL MEETING Registration form November 2010 Shanghai (China)

Or by fax to +86 21 6854 2018Or by mail to: Cecilia GUI c/o Shanghai Science & Technology Museum (SSTM) 2000 Century Avenue, Pudong New District, Shanghai China 200127

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