Editorial

Authors

  • Editorial team of Babylonia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55393/babylonia.v3i.275

Keywords:

Museum

Abstract

“Un musée est une institution permanente, à but non lucratif et au service de la société, qui se consacre à la recherche, la collecte, la conservation, l’interprétation et l’exposition du patrimoine matériel et immatériel. Ouvert au public, accessible et inclusif, il encourage la diversité et la durabilité. Les musées opèrent et communiquent de manière éthique et professionnelle, avec la participation de diverses communautés. Ils offrent à leurs publics des expériences variées d’éducation, de divertissement, de réflexion et de partage de connaissances.” ICOM (Conseil International de Musées), 24 août 2022)

In August 2022, ICOM adopted a new definition of the word ‘museum’ (above). About the same time, eco-activists initiated a series of actions in various European museums (about twenty at the time of writing) with the stated aim of attracting the attention of media, public, and governments on climate change. A few months earlier, the Musée d'Ethnographie de Genève (MEG) made headlines with a campaign to change its name as part of its decolonization process, for which it received over 1500 suggestions.

What do these three anecdotes have in common? The fact that everything in and about  a museum is communication: If the works and artifacts on display, the wording of the signage, or the content of the audio guides still often contribute towards the reproduction of a certain world view, the self-appropriation of the space by its visitors - whether welcome as in the case of the MEG or forced as in the case of the climate activism- shows the importance of museums as actors of  social change and as a platform for the dissemination of societal demands. 

And of course, at the center of these processes we find language(s) - transmitters(s) of and, as we discuss in this issue, subject(s) of learning.

We wish you a pleasant reading!

Published

2022-12-23

How to Cite

Redaktion von Babylonia. (2022). Editorial. Babylonia Multilingual Journal of Language Education, 3, 6–7. https://doi.org/10.55393/babylonia.v3i.275

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