A Global Museum Network

ICOM entered its first phase of expansion around 1948, growing from 367 members at its 1st General Conference in France to 2,793 members by 1968, the year of its 8th General Conference in Germany. The period 1968-1977 aligned with broader processes of cultural opening and widening access to museum practices following the events of 1968. The 1980s marked a phase of institutional consolidation, notably with the adoption in 1986 of the first Code of Ethics, now a key reference beyond the organisation itself and continually updated.

ICOM’s growth reflects both quantitative expansion and qualitative change. Membership continued to rise during the era of digital transformation and increasing global interconnectedness, from 14,521 members in 2000 to 27,604 in 2010, reaching 51,302 in 2022.

Drawing on archival materials-including congress documents, photographs, founding texts, early committee reports, and historic resolutions-this chapter traces key moments in ICOM’s history and highlights the actors who made them possible. Above all, it is a story of people: committed members, volunteers, and professionals dedicated to advancing global outreach, cross-border collaboration, and the exchange of expertise in the museum sector.

Across the broader landscape of 20th and 21st centuries international cultural dialogue, ICOM’s history reflects both the professionalization and democratization of the museum field. This chapter therefore highlights the major shifts that have shaped its global community.
We invite you to explore this first chapter and discover how, indeed, museums have no borders, they have a network.

In search of a global opening

Officially created in November 1946 in Paris, France, at the initiative of Chauncey J. Hamlin (USA), the International Council of Museums (ICOM) was initially anchored between Europe and North America. The early geography mirrors post-war political stability, strong museum infrastructures, and existing international networks. At this stage, ICOM national committees functioned mainly in industrialised democracies, with limited global reach.

Among the fourteen nations represented at the Constitutive Assembly, only one country was not part of the Western World: Brazil. However, expanding beyond Europe and North America was always at the heart of ICOM’s ambition, with the goal of welcoming delegates from every region of the world. As early as 1947, Chauncey J. Hamlin declared that

Defining museum.

While the definition and roles of museums were not mentioned among the “main interests of ICOM members” above, it remains an underlying topic throughout the organisation’s history. In 1946, the creation of ICOM as a non-profit association under the French 1901 law required the drafting of Statutes, and so, a definition of its members. ICOM’s first definition of the museum was therefore a legal requirement and characterized a museum primarily based on the nature of its collection

(cf. Article 2, Section II, 1946 Statutes).

Today, counting the number of members in an institution helps assess its evolution. ICOM is a growing organisation, as its membership graph keeps rising. However, it is interesting to note that, when the ICOM constitution was first written, membership was limited to a maximum of 15 members per National Committee. Rather than focusing on increasing the number of members in each National Committee, exceeding 15 members was explicitly forbidden. In the early 1970s, the Statutes were revised and this restriction was removed. Subsequently, the number of ICOM members worldwide grew significantly. Additionally, and by contrast, a National Committee must have at least 8 members to legally exist, according to the 2017 ICOM Statutes.