At the XI St. Petersburg International United Cultures Forum, within the Museums section, an expert discussion titled "New Museums and Development Programs" was held. Speakers examined the challenges the modern world poses to museums and reviewed successful examples of transforming and expanding museum spaces.
The discussion brought together heads of national museums from Kenya, the Sultanate of Oman, China, Egypt, and Guinea, as well as representatives of ICOM India and ICOM Russia. The session was moderated by Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director General of the State Hermitage Museum. He noted:
"Now that museums are often being 'canceled' as products of colonialism and imperialism, the museum community is developing new strategies. And new museums can become an excellent mechanism for dialogue among contemporary cultures in our shared world."
Mikhail Piotrovsky invited participants to reflect on how museums' strategic and ideological objectives have changed in recent years, whether they are now more oriented toward international tourists or local communities, how multimedia equipment is being deployed in museum spaces, and how economic factors influence the development of cultural complexes.
Hadil Khalil Abd Mohsen, conservator and Deputy Director of the Grand Egyptian Museum, commented:
"The Grand Egyptian Museum is simultaneously a national and international platform for the exchange of cultural experience, while continuing to preserve and study the heritage of Ancient Egypt. We view the public as a partner who can observe the work of conservators in real time, we create conditions for a deep personal experience, and we encourage further research."
The moderator invited the speakers to share their experience of reforming museum spaces and to discuss how museums in recent years have responded to changing visitor expectations while remaining true to their mission of preserving the national cultural code.
Artem Silkin, Director of the Island Town of Sviyazhsk State Museum Reserve and a representative of ICOM Russia, emphasized the role of UNESCO World Heritage status in attracting more visitors and noted that the Island Town of Sviyazhsk does not seek full commercialization:
"We tell the story of our place and how it is reflected in major events in Russian and world history. The museum is oriented toward the local community, yet modern technologies make local history engaging for the widest possible audience. We are not proponents of excessive exploitation of heritage sites. Our priority is to preserve the diversity of cultures we have."