W Nusa Tenggara to showcase village museum model at global conference

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Mataram (ANTARA) – The West Nusa Tenggara State Museum is bringing the village museum development initiative, “Kotaku Museumku Kampungku Museumku” (Our City Our Museum, Our Village Our Museum), to the international stage at the 2026 annual conference of the International Council of Museums’ Committee for Education and Cultural Action (ICOM CECA).

The Head of West Nusa Tenggara Museum, Ahmad Nuralam, said the museum, together with Bala Datu Ranga Museum, had received an official invitation to speak at the conference titled “Museums in Divided Times: How to Foster Dialogue, Caring and Sense of Belonging?”

“The initiative, “Our City Our Museum, Our Village Our Museum”, aims to establish village museums, and it has attracted their attention,” he said in Mataram on Thursday.

According to Nuralam, the invitation recognized four years of efforts by the W Nusa Tenggara Museum to bring museums closer to communities through village museums.

The initiative was developed as a response to the limited number of museums in the province, as it has only five museums.

Thus, says Nuralam, the development of village based museums is an approach to expanding the preservation and promotion of local culture.

The West Nusa Tenggara Museum has supported the development of village museums as a strategic effort to expand the region’s museum network. At least nine village museums are located on Lombok Island.

Meanwhile, Sumbawa Island has four village museums: two in Sumbawa Regency and two in Bima City.

“Perhaps the idea of village museums in Indonesia has attracted attention because of its originality and relevance to local communities,” Nuralam said.

The “Our City Our Museum, Our Village Our Museum” program was launched by Minister of Culture Fadli Zon on January 7, 2025.

Nuralam expressed hope that participation in the ICOM CECA conference would raise the West Nusa Tenggara Museum’s international profile and open up opportunities for exchanging ideas and collaborating with museum professionals from various countries.

ICOM CECA is an international committee under the International Council of Museums that focuses on museum education and cultural action, including public engagement and museums’ role in social transformation.

The ICOM CECA 2026 annual conference will take place in Jakarta from November 10 to 14, 2026, at the Theater of Taman Ismail Marzuki and several museums in Jakarta.