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The International Association of Agriculture Museums
23 05 2018
The International Association of Agriculture Museums (AIMA) gathers museum professionals, historians, ethnographers and researchers from around the world to share best practice on preserving and presenting agricultural artifacts, in order to develop engaging visitor experiences and promote ongoing research to support agricultural and rural life museums, living history parks and farming centres. The purpose of […]
The International Association of Agriculture Museums (AIMA) gathers museum professionals, historians, ethnographers and researchers from around the world to share best practice on preserving and presenting agricultural artifacts, in order to develop engaging visitor experiences and promote ongoing research to support agricultural and rural life museums, living history parks and farming centres.
The purpose of the association is to educate the public about the significance of agriculture to human society, to explain the many ways that agriculture has evolved through time, and to facilitate dialogue between museums across the globe about agricultural topics and discoveries.
Mission:
AIMA promotes scientific research and stimulates collaboration among museum professionals and agricultural museums (including museums of agricultural technology, the food industry, forestry, horticulture, viticulture, fishing, hunting and other agricultural servicing and processing industries), as well as open air museums and museums that have large agricultural departments or collections and research workers engaged in this field.
As an affiliate organization within the International Committee of Museums (ICOM), AIMA shares themission of being “committed to the research, conservation, continuation and communication to societyof the world’s natural and cultural heritage, present and future, tangible and intangible”. This mission will be achieved by aiding the exchange of exhibitions and exhibits, encouraging governing bodies to sustain support, making detailed recommendations for collecting and documentation, encouraging research involving agricultural collections, and providing a vehicle for the exchange of information on exhibition techniques and didactics.
Ongoing objectives for AIMA:
- Promote cooperation between agricultural and rural life museums as well as among archives, collections, researchers, specialists and enlightened amateurs in these fields.
- Promote and encourage initiatives that aim to interest experts, connoisseurs and museums towards research, exhibit activities, and public engagement.
- Promote and encourage international cooperation enabling better knowledge of museography in agriculture, collection sciences and representation of the development of agriculture up to the present day.
- Promote and encourage initiatives aiming at knowledge transfer – with particular attention to providing training and educational material for young professionals and students.
- Promote cooperation, on the local and international levels in all technologies linked to museology, conservation and restoration of collections of objects linked to agriculture.
- And, more generally, promote and encourage the dissemination of information that increases public and professional awareness of agriculture, its sciences and history, on an international level.
Association History:
AIMA was founded in 1966 during the first international congress of agriculture museums (the CIMACongrès International des Musées d’Agriculture) in Prague. Originally an Eastern European-focused organization, the Association has expanded its membership and partnerships to also represent North America, Asia and Africa — with the objective of extending collaborations and membership to include all European countries and Latin America.
Every three years, AIMA organizes an international congress (CIMA) during which specific themes are presented and discussed. The most recent congress (CIMA XVIII) was held in Tartu, Estonia, in 2017. Over 100 international delegates engaged in the questions of relevance, visitor expectations and the role of museum agricultural collections. The next CIMA will be held in Reading, England,, in 2020 at the Museum of English Rural Life.
Call for support:
AIMA is an organization that relies on its members to fulfill the roles of governance, communications, promotion and collaborative development. To this end, AIMA is reaching out to new members and funding organizations to assist in the development of a robust program for CIMA XIX and the international working groups that share their research and experience with all like-minded individuals and institutions. Membership dues and funding grants are judiciously used to develop and disseminate a bi-annual newsletter, publication of the papers and presentations made at each CIMA, along with support for career development of future agriculture museum professionals. The Executive Committee of AIMA encourages you to consider becoming an individual or institutional member, support knowledge transfer through the website and social media platforms or provide financial support to AIMA so that it may continue to foster global understanding of and appreciation for the past, present and future impacts of agriculture on our quality of life.
For more information about the International Association of Agricultural Museums registration links please visit our website at: https://www.agriculturalmuseums.org/
A full list of the current Executive Committee Members for AIMA may be found on the website:
https://www.agriculturalmuseums.org/about/governance/aima-executive-committee-presidium/
Should you have any inquiries about joining or supporting AIMA please contact the President at agriculturemuseums.president@gmail.com or the Secretary atagriculturemuseums.secretary@gmail.com
International Association of Agricultural Museums
Association Internationale des Musées d’Agriculture
Asociación Internacional de Museos Agrícolas
Internationale Vereinigung der Agrarmuseen
Международная Ассоциация сельскохозяйственных музеев—-
Organisation affiliée à l’ICOMICOM-Unesco Affiliated Organisation
May 2018
