- Migration museum
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Migration museums cover human migration in the past, present and future.
The current trend in the development of migration museums, named differently worldwide, is an interesting phenomenon, as it may contribute to the creation of a new and multiple identity, at an individual and collective level. Like the United States with Ellis Island, Australia, Canada, and more recently several European countries — e.g., France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom — have been creating such venues to facilitate transmission between generations as well as encounters between migrants and the host populations, by telling their personal story.
While these initiatives also serve the duty to remember, they seem to have three main objectives: Acknowledge, integrate and build awareness.
- Acknowledge: The contributions made by migrants to their host societies; the diversity and wealth of the origin cultures and; the right to a dual-belonging.
- Include and Integrate: Foster the sense of belonging; enable the communities to feel an integral part of the nation; find common ground and contribute to a national identity.
- Build awareness and educate on the events that induced individuals — and refugees in particular — to leave their land, thus developing empathy among the host population. More generally, deconstruct stereotypes on immigration.
Given the international scene and the latest events, from the Van Gogh affair in the Netherlands in 2004 to the so-called ‘crise des banlieues’ in France in 2005, there is an urgent need to give the migrant generations (the youth as well as their parents) a voice, in order to foster inclusion, integration and the right to difference. Listening to individual stories may help to deconstruct stereotypes. Memory, History and Narration may also allow to take a step back and to consider the complete picture.
Migration museums also face common challenges, in that they intend to be not only a venue for conservation and exhibition, but also and above all a lively meeting place. The challenge is not so much to bring in the intellectuals, academics, researchers, historians, traditional visitors of museums (the converted) but also and above all to attract the general public, those with preconceived ideas on immigration and the migrants themselves.
Migration museums around the world
Argentina
Australia
- Immigration Museum (Melbourne, State of Victoria)
Migration Museum, Adelaide - Australia's oldest migration museum
- Migration Museum(Adelaide, State of South Australia)
- NSW Migration Heritage Centre (New South Wales, Australia)
Brazil
Canada
Denmark
France
Germany
Ireland
Israel
Italy
The Netherlands
Portugal
San Marino
Serbia
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
- Immigrant-institutet
- National Museums of World Culture
- The Multicultural Centre
- Swedish Emigrant Institute
Switzerland
United Kingdom
- 19 Princelet Street
- Indian Presence in Liverpool
- History of London’s diverse communities
- Moving Here
- England's Past for Everyone
United States of America
Further reading
- Maria Beatriz Rocha-Trindade, Miguel Monteiro (2007), "Museums Devoted to Migration: the Portuguese Emigration Museum", Museum International 59 (1-2), 145–150.
- Aytac Eryilmaz, "The Political and Social Significance of a Museum of Migration in Germany", Museum International, Volume 59, Numbers 1-2, May 2007 , pp. 127-136
- Viv Szekeres, "Representing diversity and challenging racism: the Migration Museum", in Richard Sandell (editor), Museums, Society, Inequality (Routledge, London, 2002) pp. 142-152
External links
- UNESCO-IOM Migration Museums Initiative
- Integration : Building Inclusive Societies (IBIS) UN Alliance of Civilizations online community on Good Practices of Integration of Migrants across the World
Categories:- Lists of museums
- Types of museum
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