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. This 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.

Representatives from All Parts of the World

At the Constitutive Assembly, fourteen countries were represented, with Brazil being the only one from outside Europe and North America. From the outset, however, ICOM aimed to broaden its reach beyond these regions, with the intention of including representatives from all parts of the world.

As early as 1947, Chauncey J. Hamlin declared that “The doors of our organisation are and have been wide open to welcome amongst our ranks the museum leaders in all the nations of the world, and as our work progresses and as we proceed to establish its usefulness and value, it is to be anticipated that the museums in the few countries which have not as yet organised themselves to participate in our work, will take steps to do so and join with us in the work we have already at hand and are planning to undertake in the future.” From the late 1940s into the 1950s, the ICOM network expanded beyond its initial core.

This expansion was already visible at the very first General Conference in 1948, when fifty-three countries from all five continents were represented. ICOM also developed as a rare cultural bridge across Cold War blocs as museum diplomacy provided relatively neutral ground for East–West participation. Reflecting on his years at ICOM in the 1960s and 1970s, Hugues de Varine-Bohan remembers in this way: “I witnessed […] the maintenance of cooperative relations and frequent, relatively easy exchanges between museums in the East and those in the West […] Apart from a few visa or currency difficulties from time to time, it can be said that, at ICOM, the Iron Curtain did not prevent professional work from continuing.” (Mon passage à l’ICOM 1962-1974, 2017, p.21).

From Eurocentrism to Postcolonial Perspectives

The 1960s and early 1970s marked a decisive shift from Eurocentric expansion to post-colonial globalisation. This phase reflected the rise of national cultural institutions in newly independent states. In the 1960’s, even before the creation of a national committee in some countries, ICOM’s director Hugues de Varine-Bohan undertook extensive travels across several regions (South and South-East Asia in 1966, Latin America in 1967, Tropical Africa in 1968, among others) to acquire information on the state of museums and to discuss the possibilities for ICOM actions in those places. As a result of such trips, de Varine-Bohan consistently recommended the creation of regional agencies and emphasised the relevance of cooperation within regional alliances.

During the 1970’s, Latin American countries became increasingly prominent, particularly in museology, leading to a better global understanding of the specific challenges faced by museums in the region. As a recognition of such representation and historical contribution, Spanish later became ICOM’s third official language in 2001, alongside French and English. This major decision highlighted the importance of language for mutual understanding and cultural diversity.

While ICOM has grown geographically, as illustrated above, the scope and depth of the issues it addresses have expanded as well.

In its early days, ICOM’s main topic among members was the conservation of artworks in museums. Hugues de Varine-Bohan highlights how “Throughout my years at ICOM, the conservation of collections and, more generally, of cultural property was undoubtedly the primary activity of the organization and its International Committee for Conservation.” (Mon passage à l’ICOM 1962-1974, 2017, p.11). The Commission for the treatment of paintings was created in 1948 and was eventually merged with the Committee for museum laboratories into, the now ICOM-CC in 1967. ICOM focused on the preservation of collections in museums of fine arts, science and technology, natural history, and ethnology, but also on gardens and parks, which were very popular themes in the 1940s. This emphasis on conservation went hand in hand with a focus on museography and architecture, as exhibitions already constituted a central part of museum missions.

Increasing Attention to Training and Exchange

In the 1950’s and 1960’s, another topic gained increasing attention: the training, status, and exchange among museum personnel. During the 7th General Conference in 1965, an overall working theme was adopted for the first time: “Training of Museum Personnel”; which led to the creation of ICTOP in 1968. This focus continued to develop throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s and remains a major priority today.

In 1950, another important Committee was created: The International Committee for Documentation (then CIDOC, now ICOM Documentation). It brings together core resources on museums and thereby provides a forum for communication, cooperation, and information exchange among museums, museum professionals, scholars and others concerned with museum information and documentation.

A Growing Interest in Museology

In 1967, the meeting of a group of experts on the training of museum personnel in Europe, held in Brno, former Czechoslovakia, marked the first effort to have museology recognised as a scientific discipline in universities. Ten years later, in 1977, the International Committee for Museology (ICOFOM) was formed with Jan Jelínek, Czech anthropologist, museologist and president of ICOM 1971-1977, its first chair.

The expansion of Latin American Committees and ICOM’s dedication to study, share and disseminate different understandings of museum theory at the end of the 1960s, early 1970s resulted in the round table of Santiago de Chile (May 31, 1972) on “The development and role of museums in the contemporary world,” and the rise of new museology.

ICOM has long engaged with the digital transition and the transformation of information and communication technologies. As early as 1981, the organisation created its first computerised bibliographic database, demonstrating an early awareness of the potential of digital tools for documentation and knowledge sharing.

Museum Professionals Turn to the Web

In the 1990s, these questions gained further prominence, notably with the publication of a leaflet “The internet for museums” (1995) and two issues of Museum International entitled Museums and the Internet (1999 and 2000), reflecting growing interest among museum professionals in the web as a new space for communication and access. During this period, several digital platforms were progressively launched, including the general ICOM website (1997, reshaped in 2005, 2010 and 2018), the International Observatory on Illicit Traffic in Cultural Goods (2014), and standardised websites for International or National committees and Regional Alliances, contributing to more structured and visible international networks. In 2001, ICOM developed the top-level domain .museum in collaboration with the Getty Foundation, under the corporate name of MuseDoma.

Digital Tools Strengthen Member Interaction

In the 21st century, digital transformation has increasingly reshaped ICOM’s collaborative practices and modes of professional exchange. The standardisation and multiplication of websites for International Committees, National Committees, and Regional Alliances have facilitated the circulation of information, the coordination of activities, and cross border cooperation beyond physical meetings. Digital tools have enabled more continuous interaction among members, thereby complementing traditional forms of collaboration based on conferences and in person gatherings.

One of ICOM’s greatest strengths is that it serves as both a policy-shaping platform for the museum world and a global network for cross-professional exchange and reflection. ICOM bridges geographical divides and brings together the many different ways of thinking about and envisioning museums. Our association also plays a vital role in fostering continuity and dialogue across generations. As we navigate multiple forms of global crisis, ICOM must preserve its ability to connect museum professionals and encourage critical debate, reflection, and dialogue — actively welcoming new voices, particularly from younger generations and minority communities. All of this in service of a shared purpose: to keep building a community united around museums.