Co-operation. Newsletter for the Minpaku Seminar on Museology. InternationalCooperation Committee on Museology NationalMuseum ofethnology

Transcription

1 Co-operation Newsletter for the Minpaku Seminar on Museology 2001 InternationalCooperation Committee on Museology NationalMuseum ofethnology

2 Forinform ation on the InternationalC ooperation C om m ittee on Museology Prof.TsuneyukiM orita (Leader) Prof.Katsum itam ura (Sub-leader) Dr.N aoko Sonoda (Secretariat) InternationalC ooperation Com mittee on Museology NationalMuseum ofethnology 10-1 SenriExpo Park,Suita,Osaka ,JAPAN Tel: ,Fax: URL: Published by the NationalM useum ofethnology Printed by NationalM useum ofethnology 2001

3 The N ational Museum of Ethnology (M inpaku) has organized tw o-w eek long InternationalC ooperation Sem inar on M useology every year since The sem inars aim is to fosterunderstanding ofourm useum s activities,conceptand presentsituation,as welas to exchange view s and experience in m useology am ong participants. The sem inar is closely associated w ith a half-year training course on M useum M anagem ent Technology (C o lection, C onservation, Exhibition) held by the Japan International C ooperation Agency (JICA). Trainees ofthe JICA course and foreign research visitors atminpaku participate in the Minpaku sem inar. The totalnum berofparticipants since 1994 is nearly seventy. In this pastyear,we established a network fora lsem inar participants. The network is nothow ever lim ited to ourparticipants butis open to anyone w orking ata m useum or related institution w ho is interested in m useology.we published this new sletter to share recentnew s from participants. Though our network is stilsm a l, we hope that a num ber of cooperative projects wilbe planned and carried outthrough the network. This new sletterco-operation 2001 includes two essays.the firstessay On The Bridge between the 20 th and 21 st Centuries by Tsuneyuki Morita, Leader of the International Cooperation C om m ittee on M useology asks the question W hatis the purpose ofmuseum s in the 21 st century? The second essay W orkshop on M useum Practices in Vietnam by N aoko Sonoda,reports the details ofa workshop in Vietnam thattook place underthe jointauspices of the Vietnam M useum of Ethnology and M inpaku. The w orkshop w as held at the Vietnam Museum ofethnology,from March 4-8,2000. Fina ly, w e w ould like to thank M r. Yoichi Banjo and M s. Shim on Kum azaki of the International C ooperation Section, Research C ooperation D ivision of Minpaku for their assistance and Ms.Yuka Sato forcoordination. May,2001 Katsum itam ura Yoshitaka Terada N aoko Sonoda EditorialSubcom m ittee m em bers InternationalC ooperation Com mittee on Museology

4 On the Bridge between the 20 th and 21 st Centuries TsuneyukiMorita Professor, NationalMuseum ofethnology Itis so hard to isolate an im age ofthe M useum from thatofa space to store and/or display exce lentworks ofartorvaluable historic objects. Since the middle ofthe 17 th century w hen the first m odern museum was born in London,no change in this im age has occurred.w e Japanese often use the expression forthe Museum,which m eans a m aterialto be old,dirty and no longervaluable.i myselfhave to take care notto be a m an forthe Museum.Som e days ago Ifound this listing in the Supplem entto the Oxford English Dictionary (1976):m useum piece:an objectsuitable forexhibition in a m useum ; also transfer sense (usua ly, with derogatory sense). Everyone seem s to suppose som ething sim ilar. Now,the 21 st century has justbegun.w hatshould be the aim ofmuseum s ofthe 21 st century? I persona ly believe thata conceptdifferentfrom the classicm useum should be introduced and w ould like to purpose two ideas. Notonly in the industria ly developed countries butalso through outthe world, greatchanges in life style have occurred during the lastquarter ofthe 20 th century. The num bers ofpeople w ithout electricity, forexam ple,is sure to decrease yearby yearand with the introduction ofelectricity com e TV,wireless telephones, and num erous electric tools in our daily lives. Even the com puter is no longerconsidered specialtechnology in mostcountries. Ethnologists ca la setoftacitunderstandings living in ourlife culture. Each group ofpeoples, both big and sm a l,has their ow n tacitprom ises. In m any places in Asia,people live on rice and mostwould claim boiled orsteam ed rice as the word forstaple food. This is one exam ple oftacit understandings am ong m ost Eastand Southeast Asian peoples. W hen w e observe w e l-cooked rice m ixed w ith sugar and m ilk, used as an European dessert, som e of us find an indefinable foreignness.the m anner ofcooking and taking rice are also a partofculture.halfa century ago, alm osta ljapanese kitchens,sim ilar to those in otherasian countries,had specialranges and iron pots only forpreparing rice,although today electric rice cookers are com m on in every hom e.some Japanese in theirthirties oryounger have neverseen a classic rice-range.to cook rice over a flam e is hard w ork. I have no intention of denying the convenience of autom atic electrical appliances. However,a failure in the electric supply would now resultin the inability to cook rice.som e years ago, Ihad this actualexperience. Inow live in Kobe,which w as hitby a severe earthquake in early 1995.Fortunately, my own house received little dam age, though about 250,000 houses w ere fu ly or partia ly destroyed and 450,000 fam ilies losttheirhouses in the catastrophe.the victims had to find tem porary shelter and wait for public assistance. The city governm ent and others distributed necessary food and other materials although the socialconfusion fo low ing the severe earthquake resulted in the insufficient distribution ofmaterials. Some people had to spend m ore than three days w ithout food.during the day,they could go to their hom es to pick up the m inimum necessary m aterials, including rice and cooking pots, although it was stil dangerous. Minimaly sufficient quantities of water were also 1 - -

5 available. H ow ever, no fire w as possible. Because m odern cooking tools have introduced the electric sw itch and fam ilies w ithout sm okers have no longer matches and lighters to start a fire. Furthermore, without saw s or hatchets, which are no longer necessary in m odern urban life, they could notprepare firew ood from the broken house materials.som e youths are ignorantofthe way to prepare a w ood fire,and in extrem e cases even ofthe necessity of wood.as a resultthis lack of know ledge obliged them to go hungry and to w aitfor food distribution. This is a result ofm odern, industria ly developed civilization. Justafter the Second W orld W ar,we Japanese,in particular inhabitants ofbig cities and their suburbs,were confronted by severe starvation and ate a lkinds ofedible plants to keep offhunger. Only the know ledge ofedible plants and appropriate processing m ethods a low ed survivalunder the worstconditions.atthattim e,few electricaltools other than lam ps and radios w ere found in every hom e,and civilgas service rarely existed.archaeologists say thatsuch a life style is little different,in principal, from that of the early fourth century. This m eans m ore than a m ilennium and a half of consistency in ourlife style.during the centuries,we have experienced so m any circum stances and accum ulated a huge stock of know ledge to be richer and m ore com fortable. Even a poor life at presentshould be better than thatofa m ilennium ago.w e should rem em ber thatthese differences are realized by an accum ulation ofmore than ten centuries ofourancestorsexperiences. Is itrea ly beneficialto give up this huge accum ulation ofresourcefulness,which has com e from the experiences ofourancestors and ourselves,in return form omentary conveniences? D uring long days and years,we have repeatedly restored various tools and/orrem ade similarshapes ofobjects. That is the living history of hand m aking and also the best conservation m ethod of experiences. However,actualindustrialsociety show s signs ofsuch a long tradition decom posing fundam enta ly. Always hand m adeshould be the motherofmachine m ade. I do not deny that the m useum is a social institution equipped to conserve and to display valuable antiquities and aesthetic w orks of arts. In addition to this, m useum s in the 21 st century should be reconsidered institutions to hand dow n the accum ulated know ledge of hum an beings, particularly know ledge closely related w ith m aterial culture. C onservation of the cultures of ethnic minorities is also necessary. However,we should introduce the new perspective thatthis necessity is not due to the scarcity value of a m inority but to the accum ulated result of error and success com posed within a certain specific environm ent. My second point concerns the relationship between m useum activities and tourism. Som e museum buildings and/orco lections are fam ous sightseeing spots,such as the Louvre in Paris,the British M useum in London,and the H erm itage in St.Petersburg.H owever,these are the productof an unusua ly strong authority in a past age, and the new creation of this type of museum is not possible today.on the otherhand,now itis notso difficultto find an airportin a location,which would have once been considered frontier and to visit alm ost every interesting spot in the w orld. Nowadays itis possible fora touristto travelto places w here only explorers traveled form erly. M any curious persons are interested in visiting unknow n locations. W hile pastexplorers w ere required to investigate the area m ore carefu ly to protect them selves, tourists today get information w ith little effort.m odern and safe transportation and hostels filthe gap.itis naturalthatm ore inform ation on a location invites m ore inte lectualcuriosity, but unfortunately this type oftourist inform ation is often insufficient.o ne reason is language

6 Due to the dom inance of European and/or Am erican pow ers since the 17 th century, som e European languages, such as English, French, German,Russian and others, are dom inant while others,including ourasian ones, are subordinant, with no regard for the language distribution and num ber ofspeakers.the difference causes us inconvenience in verbalcom m unication. Mostofus require the assistance of an interpreter or translator to understand other regional languages. Com pared w ith the verbal or phonetic language, m useum display has the advantage of visual presentation. Suitable display m ethod should be able to offer more information to the regional foreigners. A person w ith ordinary vision can easily identify differences of color w hereas a person w ith im paired vision may have difficulties and a blind person cannotdistinguish colors ata l.in contrast,a delicate difference of surface texture is often negligible to the eye of the form er and easily distinguishable by touch to the latter. W hen an acute-angled equilateral triangle is draw n at the bottom centerofa paper,forexam ple,we identify itas a railway track orroad,how evera person who born blind would tactilely identify the shape as a simple triangle.no railway track is narrow er in width in the fardistance.perspective is the visualexpectation am ong persons with norm alvision.japanese and Thaiuse differentverballanguages.h owever those w ho can identify a three-dim ensionalcube from an im age draw n in perspective use anothercom m on visuallanguage.r egrettably w e are aptto force his unconscious usage ofperspective blind persons w ho should have anotherlanguage system because mostofus are unaw are ofthe existence ofvisuallanguage.iknow welthatwe stilhave a very poorsystem atic grammarofourvisuallanguage.w e use itonly according to experim entalfacts and,therefore,itis neithereasy to explain to others norto translate into language forthe blind. O ne ofthe best ways to activate m utualglobalcom m unication should be to first show, by a sim ple m ethod,ourow n region and culture to the others.c om pletion ofa visuallanguage gram mar as a m ajorcom m on language w ilbe required forthe purpose.in the near future a new age should com e w hen the museum w ilfind an im portantfunction in representing ourselves to others w ho have differentlanguages and custom s.w e know much preparation is necessary before this occurs.hoping thatsuch a date com es soon,iwish to close this shortessay. (The above textwas partia ly revised from a paperread forthe occasion ofthe JICA Museum Course Fo low U p M ission Sem inar 2000 in Bangkok, held at the R oyal Princess H otel, Bangkok, on February 8,2000.) 3 - -

7 W orkshop on Museum Practices in Vietnam N aoko Sonoda Associate Professor, NationalMuseum ofethnology Sum m eris com ing and is time to prepare for the nextinternationalcooperation Sem inar on Museology. As a custom ary event in the past few years, our museum (the N ational Museum of Ethnology orm inpaku) has held the InternationalC ooperation Sem inar on M useology in autum n,in conjunction w ith the half-year training course on M useum M anagem ent Technology (C o lection, C onservation and Exhibition)coordinated by the Japan InternationalC ooperation Agency (JIC A). In addition to the participants ofthe JICA course,foreign research visitors atminpaku may join the InternationalCooperation Sem inar on M useology ifthey w ish. So far,we have had participants from Australia, Bhutan, Bolivia, Brazil, Cam bodia, Cam eroon, Chile, China, Ethiopia, G hana, G uatem ala, Indonesia, Kenya, Laos, M acedonia, M adagascar, Malaysia, the M aldives, M ongolia, Myanm ar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua N ew G uinea, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore, the Solom on Islands, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Vietnam, and Zam bia. These countries are quite differentfrom Japan,in terms oflifestyle,climate condition,culturalbackground and otheraspects. I wondered how these participants w ere doing in their hom e tow ns after they had taken the JICAs course, including the InternationalCooperation Sem inar on M useology at Minpaku for two weeks. How much,in theirow n countries,could they apply the know ledge and information thatthey acquired in Japan? Iwas also eagerto know the actualcircum stances in theircountries.then,ihappened to have the opportunity to join the W orkshop on M useum Practices at the Vietnam M useum of Ethnology. Workshop on Museum Practices in Vietnam The W orkshop on M useum Practices took place under the joint auspices of the Vietnam Museum ofethnology and Minpaku.The necessary funding w as granted by the Asian C enter ofthe Japan Foundation. The w orkshop w as held atthe Vietnam M useum ofethnology, from M arch 4-8, 2000.This museum has strong ties with museum s in Europe,especia ly with le Muse de lhomme in France.M inpaku has also been closely related to the Vietnam Museum ofethnology,even before this museum w as open to the public in 1997, thanks to Professors Shigeharu Tanabe and Katsum i Tam ura. The totalnum ber of participants in the Vietnam w orkshop w as 27 including staff from the Vietnam M useum ofethnology and other national institutions in H anoisuch as the Vietnam Arm y Museum, the Vietnam W om en s M useum, the Vietnam R evolution M useum, the Vietnam H istory Museum and the Vietnam Culture Museum. As lecturers from Japan, Professors Yoshio O kuno from the N ara Prefectural M useum of Folklore, and Tsuneyuki Morita, Kazuyoshi Ohtsuka and m yself from M inpaku attended this workshop. In this w orkshop, lecture topics w ere expected, concerning for instance, exhibitions on ethnology (especia ly on the culture of minorities), m anagem ent of open air museum s, and 4 - -

8 conservation of museum objects. The w orkshop w as scheduled for five days, but as w e needed interpreters for Vietnam ese (1), w e could actua ly use only half of the time.if a l the participants pursued the sam e program,we would nothave enough time to treateach topic in detail.therefore, afterdiscussion with Dr.Nguyen,Director-G eneralofthe Vietnam M useum ofethnology,we decided to divide the participants into two groups in som e cases:the Exhibition group ofprofessors O htsuka and Okuno and,the C onservation group ofprofessorm orita and myself. Day 1 Morning :Visitto the Vietnam Museum ofethnology Afternoon :O pening cerem ony Day 2 M orning :Exhibition ofculture by KazuyoshiOhtsuka Afternoon :Exhibition issues by KazuyoshiOhtsuka and Yoshio Okuno (Exhibition group) H andling ofm useum objects by TsuneyukiM orita and N aoko Sonoda (Conservation group) Day 3 Morning :Sum m ery ofthe previous days discussion Interm ediate Q&A session Afternoon :Exhibition ata museum by KazuyoshiOhtsuka and Yoshio Okuno (Exhibition group) The museum environm ent by TsuneyukiM orita and N aoko Sonoda (C onservation group) Day 4 Morning :Conservation ofmuseum objects by TsuneyukiM orita Afternoon :Q&A session Closing cerem ony Day 5 Visits to the Vietnam Army Museum and the AirForce Museum The Conservation Group The participants of this group w ere m ostly young w om en. They w ere actua ly w orking in museum s eitherin technicalm anagem entofstorage areas orfor conservation and/or restoration of artifacts.on the otherhand,people assisting the Exhibition group were relatively older.som e ofthem were in charge ofm useum m anagem ent,and the others were researchers responsible forexhibitions. There were few people between these two generations,and this factmightreflectthe history ofthis country.and,as conservation science is a relatively new field in Vietnam,young people tend to get involved in this dom ain. The person in charge ofthe conservation division w as M s.m ai.she has been ofgreathelp to us in m any practicalcircum stances:visitto storage room s and the preparation ofobjects forpractical exercises in a sem inarroom and in exhibition ga leries

9 The storage room was situated on the ground floor,atthe back ofa courtyard.airconditioning was working from 7:00 am to 6:30 pm.the tem perature w as setat22 ;how ever,there were wide fluctuations in tem perature depending on the season.relative hum idity w ould be around 70%,even with dehum idifyers. Participants in the JICA course often com plained about high tem peratures and high hum idity in their countries. Here also, in Vietnam, we encountered these sam e climate conditions. The session on Handling ofmuseum O bjects was conducted in a sem inar room,using actual objects from theirco lection.in Minpaku,we have ourow n checking system,with a checklistspecia ly m ade for our purposes (2). First we identify w hat the object is m ade of. Then, we check the conservation condition ofeach m aterialthatcom poses this object.w e see each object,notfor its intrinsic value, butas an assem blage ofmaterials. The basis ofthis w ay ofthinking seem ed to be understood by the participants. They requested a translation ofour checklist into Vietnam ese. Our checklist was origina ly intended to note the degree ofdegradation ofethnologicalobjects. Itis not THE checklist.each m useum,according to the type ofco lection,can m ake its ow n checklist using our method as a starting point. For that reason, they needed M inpakus checklist translated into Vietnam ese. As partofa practicalexercise in exhibition ga leries, we took one show case as an exam ple. We asked them ifthere were any problem s in terms ofconservation and ifthere w ere som e w ays to improve the condition or to solve the problem s. People w orking for the sam e m useum gathered natura ly, and severalgroups w ere form ed.they discussed this issue for aw hile.then,one person from each group reported theirfindings.forthe restofthe time,we had a free discussion,and in that way,a lproblem s were raised and solved.som etimes itwas difficultto discovera solution alone,but, as the proverb says two heads are betterthan one,and fina ly they a lcam e up with good solutions through discussions with theirco leagues. Question and Answer Session Q uestions raised during break time orthe Q uestion and Answersessions from the participants ofthe C onservation group had the sam e focus.participants soughtdirectsolutions to each problem thatthey were encountering;forexam ple,how to conserve and/orrestore rubbertires,m etalobjects, leather,textiles, straw objects, precision instrum ent like a telescope or cam era, and film materials. There w as also a question regarding vinylm aps,used by the U.S.army during the Vietnam W ar, which were aboutto melt.otherproblem s concerned the controlofmolds,insects and bacteria. A very concrete solution to each problem w as expected,such as this can be solved by using this materialand this m ethod. However,regarding conservation and restoration,there is no miracle cure-a l.w e try to find an appropriate solution for each case through carefulobservation and tests. We therefore suggested how to approach each problem,and to which points we have to pay attention. The im portantthing is to improve the m useum environm entand atthe sam e time to am eliorate the storing system and conditions. In conservation and restoration, especia ly since the 1990 s, the im portance of preventive conservation has been recognized. Here, preventive conservation is used in the sam e w ay as preventive m edicine.we need to take care ofourselves in ourdaily life to m aintain good health.in this way,we can avoid undergoing m edicaltreatm ent(restoration) due to disease (deterioration).w e 6 - -

10 should be very carefulin doing restoration w ork,because through the intervention w e add som ething new to the object.this is the reason w hy itis so im portant to improve conservation conditions in museum s,including exhibition ga leries and storage areas. In Future Afterthis workshop in Vietnam,Ihave thoughtoverthe InternationalC ooperation Sem inaron Museology atminpaku as w e las the M useum M anagem ent Technology (Colection, C onservation and Exhibition)course ofjica. Participants ofthe sem inar or ofthe course are a ldifferent.som e are directly concerned in museum activities.others are in im portantpositions like adm inistrators ordirector-generals.they a l com e to Japan w ith their ow n experiences and information from their ow n view points. Everyone claims thatbilateralrelationships are m ore im portant than one-way training. How can we do this in practice? O ne idea is to produce together a m anualthatcovers realneeds.the majority ofbooks or references on conservation science are w ritten by Am erican or European researchers. Taking only the exam ple of clim ate conditions, it is easy to understand that the conditions in the participants countries are quite different from those ofthe U nited States or European countries, located in the tem perate or subfrigid zones. M ost ofthe participants m ust dealwith high tem peratures and high hum idity.others com plain abouthigh tem peratures and low hum idity.and they also have to consider strong sunshine. When we consider the actual climate or other conditions in Asia or in Africa, methods or system s developed in the U nited States or in Europe cannot alw ays be applied autom atica ly. This m anual, to be ideal,should cover a lthe activities in m useum s, and w e should propose solutions with the situations ofthe interested countries taken into account:whatcould we do with a m inimum system, trained personneland capital? M oreover, the m anualshould be w ritten in theirow n languages.the m anualis worth while only ifitis rea ly used on the spot. O ne ofthe rem aining problem s concerns participants after the training course.som e ofthem wish to take more advanced courses in Japan.However,atthe moment,we are notprepared to m eet their requests. As the M useum M anagem ent Technology (Colection, C onservation and Exhibition) course becam e,one ofthe generalcourses ofjica in 1999,we expectan increase in applicants for advanced courses. The issue can not be tackled only w ithin M inpaku. It is necessary to have cooperation betw een related institutions and to organize an appropriate system in Japan. Ourbig cha lenge is the creation ofa network.the staffofm inpaku has been and is involved in international cooperation projects on m useum activities from several standpoints. For instance, Professors M orita and Tanabe had already been atthe Vietnam M useum ofethnology as advisers even before this w orkshop.in addition,with the JICA course as a turning point,we now have close cooperative links w ith m useum s in Bhutan, Laos, M ongolia, Myanm ar and the Solom on Islands. U nderthese circum stances,a network has been developed am ong the participants ofthe sem inarat Minpaku, with Professor Tam ura as the leader. A new sletter nam ed C o-o peration has been distributed not only to the participants of the sem inar but also to overseas researchers w ho are interested in museum activities. There are so m any other international cooperation projects on m useum activities in w hich Japan orothercountries are involved.each projecthas its ow n network.ifstronger ties w ere m ade betw een these networks, a realinternationalnetwork w ould be created, which w ould facilitate the 7 - -

11 m utualexchange ofknow ledge,inform ation and experience. (1) We would like to thank ourinterpreters,mr.kazuhiko Onishiand Mr.Yasuo Fukuda.W ithout theirefforts,the sem inarw ould nothave been so successful. (2) TsuneyukiMorita Case Study:Materials and Disfiguration ofethnographic O bjectssenri EthnologicalStudies,No.23.pp.45-67,1988. (Notes) This article w as origina ly w ritten in Japanese for Minpaku Tsushin, no.90, pp , which w as published on October10,

12 Message Board 1. Union of Myanmar Thida Tun Assistant Curator, Yangon National Museum (Office address) National Museum 66/74. Pyay Road, Dagon Township Yangon, MYANMAR (Tel)( {95) (Home address) 145, 45 th Street, Botataung Township, Yangon, MYANMAR (Tel)( {95) The year of participation: 1994/1995 Myanmar Necklaces (Beads) Exhibition Myanm ar people like to w ear necklaces not only ofgold orjew els butalso ofvarious kinds of stone beads and even artificial beads. So Myanm ar people have possessed m any kinds of beads throughout the long history of Myanm ar. During August of 2000, the M yanm ar National Museum held a tem porary exhibition of beads, lasting 44 days and m any M yanm ar of different ages as w e l as foreigners cam e to see the exhibition. M yanm ar Necklaces (Beads) Exhibition was held as an activity ofthe Ministry ofculture. Three departm ents under the control of the Ministry of Culture, the D epartm ent of Culture Institute, the Fine Arts D epartm ent and the ArchaeologicalD epartm entcooperated to forthis First, after form ing the com m ittee, members w ent to various parts of Myanm ar to co lect beads of different periods and different areas. For exam ple, the D irector-g eneral of the D epartm entofculturalinstitute tried to co lectthe beads of Chin nationalities in C hin State, a m ountainous region, rather difficult in transportation. In C hin State, there are different groups ofchin tribes and they live separately in vilages. For this reason, the D irector-g eneral co lected the beads and necklaces by borrow ing the fam ily heritage ofdifferentchins through the cooperation of the State authority and w ith the help of the curator of the C hin State C ultural Museum. The D irector of the N ational Museum also w ent around Bagan D istrict and borrow ed beads and took photographs of the places the ancient beads w ere found.o ne of the D irectors of the Archaeological D epartm ent w ent to C haungtha Beach,very nearto the Ayeyarw addy Delta region and Pathein city and shot video of the process of making she l necklaces. This director purchased various kinds of she l necklaces and she ls that Myanm ar use for necklaces and otherdecorations. The D irector of the Library and M useum research section, under the D epartm ent of Cultural Institute, went to the central part of Myanm ar and took video on the process of making fossil wood beads in m any shapes and designs. O ther cultural museum s of States and Divisions also co lected the beads of M yanm ar ethnic groups by borrow ing or by purchasing. Because of the announcem ent on M yanm ar new spaperand television,private bead co lectors 9

13 and ow ners w ere interested in the exhibition and cooperated in m any other ways as wel as lending their beads. They tried to support the exhibition by exhibiting in interesting w ays and donated m oney to printthe brochure (pam phlet). And som e people w ho ow n the strange,beautiful and rare necklaces shared their w onderful feelings about their beads w ith m any other people by lending them forthe exhibition. After co lecting, the staffs of the N ational Museum and State m useum s tried to m ake an attractive exhibition. We divided the beads and necklaces section by section. Firstly, we started with the stone age beads and bronze age beads. Secondly cam e the Pyu Period beads m ade of gold,carnelian, agate, quartz and chalcedony of the 1 st through 9 th century A.D.Thirdly, beads of the Bagan Period ofthe 10 th to 12 th century A.D. are displayed. After then Konebaung Period of the 19 th century A.D.bead necklaces are show n. The next section com prises beads of various nationalities of Myanm ar, especia ly Shan, Kachin, K ayin, Kayah, Rakhine and C hin. S han State is very w ide and m any m inority groups live in this m ountainous region apart from the Shan majority group. In the exhibition w e chose the traditional necklaces of the Ahakha and Lahta groups w hathad been rarely show n. In R akhine State, am ong the various groups, necklaces of the M ryo and Kam ie groups w ere chosen because of their rareness and the difficulty of getting a chance to see them.after this are the necklaces ofkachin,kayah and Padaung.In the exhibition, beads of Chin State are especia ly exhibited. The second to last section contains the various she lnecklaces ofm yanm ar and the last section is m odern necklaces from a l over Myanm ar. The specialsection show s the beads offossilw ood from the m iddle partofm yanm ar. So, there are 8 sections in the exhibition ha l. Although w e w anted to exhibit more beads, the ha lis rathernarrow and the area is lim ited. W e, the m useum staff thought carefu ly how to beautifu ly decorate each section differently, so we used antiques forsupportin the historic sections. We used naturaldried flow ers, bam boo, leaves and daily utensils m ade of bam boo in the section of national races. Other interesting objects like sculpture, pottery and glassw are are used in the m odern beads section. In the exhibition ha lwe show ed not only the beads and supporting m aterials, but also used a m ap to show where the beads were found, as w e l as explanation plate in M yanm ar and English. For exam ple, for the C hin traditional necklaces of(16)kinds.the explanations read: Ng Maw use as necklaces in M in tat and Kanpak let.big am ber beads. Usualy three or four necklaces are com bined as one set. Beads are in various colours butonly one colour beads are also used in this kind. Sakhi hapaak khi m ade of barking deercanines.atleast(30)male barking deer,60 canines forone necklaces.only the brave,skilful hunter can hold the Sakhihapaak khi.c ho race ladies w ear as the honourable sym bolof skilful hunting and courage of their fathers or husbands. As above, there are 16 kinds of Chin bead necklaces. In the exhibition, 44 kinds of necklaces were show n, tota ling 493 necklaces and 125 beads. Butduring the exhibition period the total num berofnecklaces & beads increased because ofprivate co lectors. Kinds of Beads on Exhibit Stone age -stone beads -terra-cotta -she l Bronze age -stone beads Pyu period -fossilwood,gold, sm oky quartz 10

14 -am ethyst,am ber, carnelian -spinel,quartz,agate -black tourm aline,paste, glass,chalcedony Bagan period -terra-cotta -paste -glass -am ethyst -quartz Konebaung period -am ber PresentAge -jade -quartz -am ber -lapis-lazuli -carnelian -agate -pearl -she l -motherofpearl -teak wood -ivory -yarn bead -padauk w ood -yin-daik wood -bam boo -coconut -kyeik seed -yw ay seed -ahw aiyarseed -toddy palm leaf -corypha palm leaf -elephantbone -cow bone -cow rie -glass -plastic Nationalraces -kyeik seed -coral -cow rie -bam boo -fossilw ood -agate -am ber -quartz -barking deercanine -she l -plastic -paste -m onkey sku l -boarcanine -barking deerhorn -terra-cotta -brass -silvercoin A total of 6972 adults, children (local) and 249 foreigners cam e to see the exhibition. We recorded the exhibition by taking photographs and videos. Visitors could buy a videotape aboutm yanm ar necklaces.beads and accessory shops opened in frontofthe exhibition ha l. So,everyone liked the exhibition very m uch. Since the exhibition, the young ones in Yangon are w earing beads around theirnecks and also in theirhand in fashionable ways. 2. Malaysia Ismail Haji Mansor Information and Public Relation Officer, Sabah Museum, Jalan Muzium (Office address) 11

15 88300 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, MALAYSIA (Tel) ( {60) (Home address) Kampung Rampayan, Menggatal Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, MALAYSIA (Tel) ( {60) The year of participation: 1994/1995 Activities M y new responsibilities are in public relation.giving shortbriefings and talks to any of the visiting team com prising the m em bers ofthe association,vips,schoolstudents and university students is m y routine job. The talks cover the objectives, mission, and vision of the Sabah Museum to give visitors basic insightinto the role of our museum before w e guide through our exhibition.w hile in the ga lery the visiting team is given furtherinformation. My other business is to supervise the contribution ofarticles and any other inform ation pertaining to the m useum activities to be published in the localnew spapers. Priorto this I was also given the task ofproducing information about our museum activities via radio and television. Immediately after returning from Japan after attending the group-training course on museology in 1994/1995 organized by JICA/Minpaku,Iwas involved in preparations for the opening cerem ony ofourm useum s H eritage Vilage. In 1995,Isupervised the setting up ofthe Inform ation C entre of the Kinarut Panoram ic M ansion, which w as built for the formerrubber estate m anager, German W.F.C Asimont,during the British Era in Sabah. In 1996,Isupervised the construction and establishm ent of the Batu Tulug Agop site museum in the eastern partofsabah. In 1996, I was involved in setting up the Sabah Museum perm anent exhibition on Sabahs historical Time Tunnel, Technology on Sabahs Railw ay, Islam ic C ivilisation, Zoology and Technology ofbroadcasting in Sabah. From 1996 to 1999, I was involved in the preparation of several tem porary exhibitions on Malaysian currency, exhibitions on youth, jar co lection, astronom y, cannons, biodiversity, our culture, the pleasure of discovery, Ramadhan and Im ages ofkota Kinabalu, and severalother m obile exhibitions. In 1999,Isupervised the setting up ofthe Inform ation C entre of the D atuk Paduka M at Saleh (a Bajau w arrior w ho fought against the British in the 19 th century).the location is in the interiorofsabah. In 1999 I was a team leader of the research group seeking public opinion in the area ofsandakan,sabah fora proposalto builta site museum in Sandakan. The results of the research w ilbe a greathelp in implem enting the proposal which w il be funded by the federal governm entofmalaysia. Im also a memberof the video/research recording group in the joint research project of the D epartm entculturalinstitute and the National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka and Toppan Printing C o. Ltd. Japan. The video shooting w il cover am ong other things, the events related to the life of the people of my country (Sabah Malaysia), such as annual events, various scenes in rural and city lives to be used for audio-visual education for elem entary and interm ediate school children in Japan for their better understanding of foreign cultures and people.this programme mightalso be usefulfor ourmuseum outreach programme in the future. At the m om ent Im also a member of various com m ittees. I am the secretary of the Exhibition Committee, the secretary of the 12

16 Acquisition Committee,and a committee member of the annual Sabah Fest celebration. Sabah Museum was the centre ofthe state levelcultural activities held every year on M ay 15th. This celebration w as held in conjunction w ith the Visit Sabah Year 2000 and the activities for the celebration included num erous cultural show s, handicraft dem onstration, traditional gam es and com petitions of various ethnic groups in Sabah which were held atthe Sabah Museum Complex. Apartfrom that Im also a memberof the publication com m ittee,a secretary ofthe training and induction course, a panelmemberofsabah Museum G overnm entalexam ination and D eputy Cirm an ofthe research committee. In June 2000,Iwas involved in organizing the International Biodiversity conference In the New Milennium held in Kota Kinabalu.Iwas the em cee forthe paneland the com bined session of the conference, which w as attended by 150 participants from various countries. For our outreach programme Im looking forward to organizing severaltraveling exhibition in the rural area in the field. Apart from the exhibition, I wil be giving talks to the vilage people as w e l as school students in their respective area,and Iam now preparing a lotof photo slides aboutthe Sabah Museum to be used in m y presentations. Introducing the m useum s function w il be very crucial as m ost of the com m unities living in the ruralarea, we believe, have neverbeen to the museum before. Apart from m y museums w ork I and several other officers, our director Mr. Joseph P.G untavid, Deputy D irector Mr. Sintiong G elet and C onservator Mr. Anthony C hong are now involved in the Kota Kinabalu C entennial Tim e C apsule project to be constructed at Kota Kinabalu C ity som etime atthe end of the year Comments The M useum M anagem ent Technology Group Trainning C ourse jointly organized by JIC A and several other museum in Japan, especia ly The N ationalm useum ofethnology, Osaka from 26 Septem ber1994 to 19 March 1995,has given me the opportunity to learn m ore aboutmuseum work and its vital role in the com m unities. The crucialaspects were the know ledge Igained from the m useum experts in various m useum s in Osaka, Hyogo Prefecture, Kobe, Hiroshima, Kyoto,Tokyo,Nara and severalotherm useum s I m anaged to visit around O saka during m y free time (Saturday and Sunday).A lofthem boosted my knowledge w hich w ilbe a great help in m y career and assist my routine job tow ards som e improvem ent. Besides that I m anaged to learn som e sim ple Japanese language. The visit to several museum s throughout the program initiated by JICA and Japan Foundation w as very appropriate and should be carry on in future.the visitwas notonly to enjoy the beauties of Japan but the know ledge w e acquired from various m useum. Iand every exparticipant for sure are looking forward to adapting everything to the best of our abilities. The greatestproblem is thatourbudgetcould not afford everything. I was able to learn m ore new things through the tour programme to several fam ous museum throughout Japan, the lectures had given m e more information and the practical training had given m e the opportunities to travel alone and experience the true life style especia ly the autum n and wintersession in Japan. Iwas very glad to visitjapan in my life time and I feel proud to have been given another chance to visit Japan again 3 years later for another2 weeks and to visitminpaku once m ore under the sponsorship of the Japan Foundation. The second chance gave m e another golden opportunities to learn m ore aboutm useum w ork in Japan. 13

17 The Japan Foundation-s programme also gave m e the unforgettable opportunity to visit several m useum s around O kinaw a as w e l as Ishigaki Island, the isolated sm a l island the Taketom iand severalother fam ous m useum s in Yokoham a,and betw een Tokyo and O saka. I take this opportunity to convey m y sincere thanks to a l the m useum personnel especia ly in Japan but not forgetting the Japanese representative in M alaysia and the governm entofm alaysia w ho rendered theirevery effortto assist me in improving m y know ledge in order to carry on w ith m y career. I-m looking forward to another opportunity to study m ore aboutmuseology. 3. Solomon Islands Edward Wale Conservator, Solomon Islands National Museum (Office address) P.O. Box 313,Honiara, SOLOMON ISLANDS (Tel) ( {677)22309 (Fax) ( {677)23351 The year of participation: 1994/1995 Iw ould like to acknow ledge the receipt of the new ly established cooperation new sletter for the Minpaku Sem ineron Museology First of a l, credit must be given to the members of the International C ooperation Committee on m useology for the initiative to establish such a new sletter which I believe w il provide inform ation tools for form erand present participants of the International C ooperation Sem inar on M useology as w e las a network for them and fortheirm useum co leagues. Ithink one very im portantaspectofsuch a new sletteris thatitprovides an avenue forform er participants and those w ho mightbe interested in museum related issues to discuss and exchange view s and ideas on im portant matters affecting theirrespective museum s and culturalinstitutions. I hope that this new sletter wil also prom ote friendship and com m unication am ongst participants,the staffofm inpaku and others from museum s and culturalinstitutions across Japan. As one of the participants in the first InternationalC ooperation Sem inar on Museology in 1994,Ifu ly supportthe conceptand intentions ofthe new sletter.ido hope thatotherparticipants who have participated in previous sem inars w il appreciate the effort put forward by your hard working com m ittee and w il also support and contribute articles for this new ly created new sletter. It is interesting to note that a l the participants w ho contributed to the firstnew sletter shared the sam e sentim entconcerning w hatthey learned from the sem inar and the m useum m anagem ent course organized by JICA in co laboration w ith the N ational Museum of Ethnology and w hich benefited them in one w ay oranother. In m y case, the sem inar and the JICA course was an eye opener which has encouraged m e to broaden m y know ledge and given m e insight into the technology and methodology the developed countries apply in their museum s for the dissem ination of heritage 14

18 inform ation to theirinterested audiences. On my return in 1996, I attended a workshop on Pest Control and Treatm ent in Museum s held at the U niversity of C anberra, C anberra, Australia. In 1997, I had the opportunity to attend a w orkshop on Integrated Pest M anagem ent (IPM ) organized by the Fiji Museum and held in Suva, Fiji. In 1998, I was invited to attend a course on Techniques in Preserving Heritage Colectionsheld atthe Tahiti Museum in Papeete,Tahiti. A lin a l,the know ledge acquired from m y training in Japan, especia ly at the N ational Museum ofethnology, has given m e confidence in m y contributions in the professional and scientific workshops Im entioned above. Atpresent,the financialand ethnic crisis in ourcountry has forced alm ost80% ofthe public servants on to governm ent workers nonnpaid leave and w e just stay at hom e m onitoring the situation. As soon as the situation improves w e should resum e our duties. As soon as Iresum e duty, I wilwork on a rehabilitation plan for our co lections and display w hich have suffered greatly from theftand in attention to the artifacts during the lastfive m onths orso. I wil update you on the situation at our museum and its co lections as soon as Ireturn to work. With thatmuch Irem ain. 4. Republic of Ghana Alex Mensah Chief Administrative assistant, Ghana Museums and Monuments (Office address) Ghana Museums and Monuments P.O. Box GP 3343 Accra-Ghana, GHANA (Tel) ( {233) The year of participation: 1997/1998 After my arrival in G hana and a w hole m onth of concentrated excitem ent that yearned forthe im partating ofw hatiacquired in Japan,I decided to expose my office co leagues and other staff to w hat I learned. This w as to prevent the movations, improvem ents, etc. of my enhanced expertise from looking strange and creating confusion as Iapplied the new trends in museum m anagem ent. Newly em ployed staff, students doing their National Service, and students on practicalattachm ent are exposed to the m odern trends in museum m anagem enttechnology. I participated in other major projects. An exhibition w as m ounted at Sekondi, one of the cities in G hana.iparticipated in this projectas a member of the Technical Planning Committee. The project was undertaken by the G hana Museum s and M onum ents, Institute of African Studies, University of G hana and the W est African M useum s Programme (WAMP)based in Dakar,S enegal.the project was the firststep in the establishm ent of a R egional Museum in Sekondi. I am conducting research to discover the extentof care of co lections by curators etc. My research is aim ed at establishing the degree of im provem entin the handling ofco lections in the repositories.suggestions forimprovem entwilbe given atthe end ofthe research.itook partin the feasibility studies on the Slave R oute Exhibition which are underway in G hana by the G hana Museum s and M onum ents Board. 5. Republic of Zambia Liywalii Mushokabanji Keeper of Archaeology, Livingstone Museum (Office address) P.O. Box 60498, Livingstone, ZAMBIA (Home address) 15

19 54 Kabompo RD, Livingstone, ZAMBIA The year of participation: 1999/2000 Impressions on the Museum Management Technology Course for Japan International Cooperation Agency Participants Is itpossible you can travelto Japan? We have short-listed your nam e fora training course in Japan. The typical answ er from m any participants is an outright yes, of course sir. This is apparently the conversation in w hich usua ly governm entofficials in charge ofheritage institutions in developing countries invite their personnel to com e and train in the M useum M anagem ent Technology course offered by the Japan International C ooperation Agency (JICA). The firstim pression thatstrikes m any participants is how much ofthe latesttechnology is applied in Japan and particularly in Japanese cultural institutions. The M useum M anagem ent Technology course, norm aly offered over a space of six m onths, covers alm osta lthe functionalaspects ofculturalinstitutions and theirsupportunits from co lection ofdata through education to security of the culturalcontents.the six w eeks atthe end of the course are usua ly reserved for individual training in specific fields of interest for each participant. The course intends to orient the participants to the functions ofculturalinstitutions and their support units and to further their understanding in specific fields of interest. The objectives ofthe course are achieved by a series of lectures carried out at the O saka Students InternationalC entre (O SIC)and study trips based on observations and on sight lectures in museum s and other cultural centers across Japan. The intention ofthe Japanese Governm ent to introduce this course w as w e ltim ed and an appreciated contribution of hum an resource developm ent for m any developing countries of the world.@as wel,the organization ofthe course is superb. However, a few rem arks and observations can be m ade on the implem entation ofthe course. Experience Museology is a com paratively new field of study in m any universities in the world and som e developing countries may nothave such a course offered in theireducation system.h ence Heritage Institutions in m any of these countries have to em ploy staff with virtua ly no training in museology. How they w ork in m useum s and other cultural property institutions is som ething they have to learn w hile w orking. The point to note is thatthe JICA Museology course m ay be the only opportunity thatsuch personnelhave to form aly learn m useology. Therefore it is suggested here thatthe lectures should be broad enough to include theory as w e l as practical exam ples of the concepts under study. Such an approach w il not only equip participants w ith experience but also help them perceive museology concepts to contribute to ideas atany theoretical forum. The lectures as noted above should be broad. For exam ple Security In Museum s as a subject for study m ay require identification of the various types of security available forboth objects and hum ans thatcom e into contact with m useum facilities. This approach may coverareas such as accessioning, docum entation, exhibition, publication, mechanicalequipm ent,and outside organization. as m eans of security. Another exam ple is Museum Environm ent. This subject may answ erissues pertaining to how otherinstitutions in the society influence m useum s and other culturalcentersoperations as w e las how space and specim ens may be m anaged to prolong their lifespan. Likew ise such an approach to the subjectcan particularly be understood ifliterature 16

20 references are given. Study Trips Basica ly in study trips trainees com e into contact with cultural centers and their support units.the idea ofstudy trips is a good approach in m useology. Itintroduces participants to an on site experience. Participants are offered an opportunity to see actual implem entation and perform ance of the concepts of different museum s and site m onum ents. However, care mustbe taken in plans forstudy trips so thatthe intended objectives are attained w ithout strain. The present nature of the study trips appears wroughtwith duplicate albeitvery costly trips.itis my suggestion that study trips be limited to one on site experience trip for each concept introduced.forexam ple ifthe subjectis O pen Air Museum one m useum that represents a l aspects ofan open air museum may be chosen forthe on site experience.such an approach w il not only elim inate m onotony but also heavily reduce the costofstudy trips. Literature References Literature is a very im portantaspectofany training. The O SIC library leaves m uch to be desired in terms ofliterature references for the museology course.h ence itis my suggestion as m entioned above that m oney saved on study trips could be invested in the acquisition of appropriate reading materials for the library. Alternatively, if the focus of the course is to produce trainers,then likew ise appropriate books could be boughtforparticipantsfuture use. Anotherpointto note is thatthe experience of Japan is altogether different from that of developing countries. G enera ly speaking, developing countries are poverty- stricken, and agonized by budgetcuts. Therefore every site experience, especia ly in specialized training must consider available options w herever possible in view of the overw helm ing poverty where m odern facilities m ay notbe acquired in a shorttime. Seminar The sem inar from the participant point of view is w e l tim ed. This is because tow ard the end ofthe course participants w ilhave covered much ofthe course and itmay be the righttime to reevaluate and refreshen their understanding of ideas and the w ays, issues are dealt, with particularly in Japanese culturalinstitutions.buti think that this reevaluation can efficiently be realized if participants them selves are encouraged to actively participate in the sem inar by way ofpresenting papers on museology topics oftheirow n choice.in factthis w ilavailthem an opportunity to discuss ideas based on their experiences in Japan. On the other hand, the other participants and lecturers in particular wil have a chance to note how m uch m useology participants have grasped from the course. I w ould like to furthersuggestthatanothersem inar be conveyed before participants begin their lectures. Such a sem inar must also actively involve a l participants and lecturers should attend. This w ilenable lecturers to gauge how much the participants already know so thatthey can prepare lecture contents accordingly. The sam e can be said fordaily lectures.itis im portant to clarify the relevance of the lecture to participants beforehand. Correspondence To m onitor the future perform ance of graduate participants, continued exchange of ideas through com m unication w ith host organizers should be established. I therefore w ould like to take this opportunity to encourage the idea ofan annualm agazine by the N ational Museum of Ethnology(Minpaku) for continued com m unication w ith the participants. It is m y 17

21 proposal that if possible the m agazine reserve space for the participants to w rite about their projects and achievem ents aftertraining. Conclusion The concerns raised in this article w ere as a resultofmy participation in the JICA Museology course. However,I was encouraged to note that m any of my fe low participants shared similar concerns. I would like to thank M inpaku for publishing these observations. M ore im portantly, itis m y sincere hope thatthe concerns raised in this article w il be useful in the future reorganization ofthe JICA Museology course. 6. Kingdom of Nepal Ganesh Man Gurung Professor of Sociology, Central Department of Sociology, Tribhuvan University (Office address) National Museum, Chauouni, Kathmandu, NEPAL (Home address) Triyarga Nager palika 1 Udayapur, NEPAL The year of participation: 1999/2000 Prasad G auchan, stated that such cooperation w ould help better represent N epalese culture to the w orld. In accordance to his agreem ent with the m useum, cam eram an M r.dhrub Basnet has videotaped various N epali festivals, such as Lhosar, Bisket Jatra, Tim aljarta, G hantakarna, N egpancham i, Rishitarpan, Gai Jatra, Krishna Astam i, Babuko M ukh H erne, Haritalika, and Pancham i. Next, the m useum plans to videotape various parts ofn epalese daily life.the proposed them es include the daily lives ofa porter,student, driver, local sham an, jobholder, mother, craftsm an, and farmer. This film is expected to benefit both N epalese and Japanese people. In addition to being show n in the m useum, it wil also be studied by Japanese school children. Based on this year-s experiences, the m useum wildevelop a plan to record various aspects of N epalese lifestyle and culture. Plans to begin filming next year in various parts of the nation outside the Kathm andu va ley. Surely, such type of work gives additional support for the establishm ent of NationalEthnographic M useum in Nepal. According to the agreem ent between the N epal National Ethnographic M useum (N NEM), the N ational Museum of Ethnology, and the Toppan Printing C om pany, Mr. Yasushi Kobayashi donated a m oviecam era, forty cassettes, and m oney to the m useum at a m eeting held at the Kathm andu office on December27,1999.Mr.Makito Minam i,who is a Research Fe low at the N ational Museum of Ethnology located in O saka, Japan, was also present at the m eeting. On the sam e occasion, the chairm an of the m useum, Dr. G anesh M an Gurung, and vice-chairm an, Professor Som 18

22 7. Peoples Republic of China Zan Shuqin Curator, Geological Palace Museum Changchun Univ. of Science and Technology (Office address) 6 Ximinzhu St., Changchun City Jilin, P.R.CHINA (Tel) ( {86) The year of participation: 2000/2001 C hangchun G eologicalpalace M useum of the Jilin U niversity w as founded in The exhibition area is 1,500 square m eters, com prising seven divisions nam ely fossils, minerals, rocks, mineral deposits, gem s and jades,appreciation stones,and specialdinosaur Hal. Currently there are m ore than 3,000 geological specim ens on display, and another 20,000 ormore in the storage. From the time ofestablishm ent(1954),this museum had provided satisfactory services to both the professors and students in the teaching and learning ofg eology.three years ago (1997), this museum w as opened to the public for view ing and the annualvisitors are about30,000. The m useum plays an im portant role in prom oting and educating the public in geoscience. Atthe end 1999,this museum w as nom inated as the NationalBase forpublic S cience Education by the N ational Association of Science and Technology ofchina. Iwas very lucky to be invited by the Japan International C ooperation Agency (JICA)to take part in the training course from August 2 to December 27, In the five m onth period, I visited and observed m ore than 40 w onderful museum s throughout Japan and m et about 60 professors and curators w ho gave lectures on museology (co lection, conservation, exhibition, museum m anagem ent, etc.). I attended the two w eek International C ooperation Sem inar on museology atm inpaku (the N ationalm useum of Ethnology),plus five w eeks ofspecialtraining at the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, the Ritsum eikan U niversity W orld Peace M useum, and Minpaku. From this training course, Ilearned about the theory and technology of museum function and exchanged view s and experiences w ith experts ofm useology. When Ireturn to m y country, I wil apply whatilearned here to my work. 1. Iwildo my bestto achieve an increase in the budget from our university for our museum and try to apply for more grants from governm ent,com panies and even abroad. 2. When ourmuseum renew s the perm anent exhibition,iwilmake use ofmore advanced technology such as com puters and audiovisualutilities; I wiluse as m any new w ays as possible to m ake the exhibition m ore interesting. 3. At the present, there are m any fossils, minerals and appreciation stones on the Chinese m arkets, so w e should explore opportunities to co lect more specim ens and to enlarge ourstorage. 4. In the future,ourm useum w ilhold a special exhibition closely associated w ith the people and environm ent.possible them es ofspecial exhibitions to be organized are m ineral m edicine, diam onds, resources and the environm ent,and earthquakes. 19

23 5. Iwil use the m anagem ent experience I learned here to m anage ourm useum in order to increase the efficiency of the m useum work. 6. For the next year, our museum plans to establish international cooperation w ith Japanese specialists on dinosaurs. Work in this type ofjointproject willead to exce lent research results on C hangchun dinosaurs. My am bition is to make my museum one of the bestin Changchun C ity and Ihope my dream wilcom e true. 20

24 Program 2000 Date Time Subject Teacher Oct. 10 (Tue.) 10:00--10:30 Opening Ceremony Opening Remarks 10:30--12:00 Organization of the National Museum of Ethnology Naomichi Ishige ( Director-General) Isao Hayashi 13:00--16:00 Museum Tour Makito Minami 16:00--17:15 Official Visit to the Director- General 17:30--19:00 Welcome Party (at Museum Restaurant) Oct. 11 (Wed.) 10:00--16:00 The Museum Documentation Masatoshi Kubo Oct. 12 (Thu.) Oct. 13 (Fri.) 10:00--16:00 From Acquisition to Display at National Museum of Ethnology 10:00--16:00 Object Inspection and Identification of Materials Ryoji Sasahara Yoshiaki Iijima Naoko Sonoda Oct. 16 (Mon.) 10:00--16:00 The Museum Environment Tsuneyuki Morita Oct. 17 (Tue.) Oct. 18 (Wed.) Oct. 19 (Thu.) 10:00--16:00 Measurement and Technical Drawing of Object 10:00--16:00 Audio-Visual Materials in the Museum 10:00--16:00 Photography ( Theory and Practice) Kazuyoshi Ohtsuka Akira Suzumura Hitoshi Tagami Oct. 20 (Fri.) 10:00--12:30 Museum Lighting Tsuneyuki Morita 13:30--16:00 Overall Discussion Chairperson : Katsumi Tamura 16:15--16:45 Closing Ceremony Closing Remarks Shigeharu Sugita ( Deputy Director-General) 16:45--17:00 Group Photographing for Memory 21

25 Participants 2000 country name affiliation Bhutan Deki Yangzom Senior Museum Assistant, National Museum Paro, Bhutan Bulgaria Lyubava Alexandrova Georgieva Curator of Ancient History and Archaeology, National Museum of History China Zan Shuqin Curator/Professor, Geological Palace Museum, Changchun University of Science and Technology Malaysia Chau Mein Anthony Chong Curator/Conservator, Department of Sabah Museum Myanmar U Than Win Deputy Director, National Museum, Department of Cultural Institute, Ministry of Culture, Union of Myanmar Papua New Ezirifa Owaka Principal Curator, J. K. McCarthy Guinea Museum Peru Luis Felipe Villacorta Sub-Director, Museo De Sitio, De Puruchuco, Instituto Nacional de Culutura Saudi Arabia Abdul Rahman A. A. A. R. Al-Mansour Archaelogist, Deputy Ministry of Antiquities and Museums China Deng Xiaohua Director, Institute of Anthropology, Xiamen University China Li Xiaofen Instructor, Foreign Languages and Culture, Xiamen University Finland Riikka Lansisalmi Part-time researcher of the programme for promotion of the core research institute, National Museum of Ethnology 22

26 Participants by country Total China Korea Mongolia Cambodia 1 1 Indonesia Laos Malaysia Myanmar Singapore 1 1 Thailand 1 2 (1) * 3(1) Vietnam (4) 1 1 2(4) Bhutan 1 (2) 1 1 3(2) Maldives 1 1 Nepal 2 2 Pakistan 2 2 Saudi Arabia Syria 1 1 Bulgaria 1 1 Finland (1) (1) Macedonia 1 1 Cameroon 1 1 Ethiopia 1 1 Ghana Kenya 1 1 Madagascar 1 1 Senegal 1 1 Tanzania Zambia Bolivia Brazil (1) (1) Chile 1 1 Guatemala Peru Australia (1) (1) Papua New Guinea Solomon Islands Total 11 8(8) (1) 11 10(1) 69(10) *Numbers in parentheses are observers 23

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