Bảo tàng lịch sử Quốc gia

The conference had two principal parts. The first one was the ANMA 6 Executive Committee meeting and the second one was a conference on The Role of a National Museum in the World Climate Change and Cultural Sustainable Development.

Panorama of the ANMA 6 Executive Committee meeting

At the Executive Committee meeting, representatives of national museums had an overview report on the results achieved during 2015-2017. Apart from the Vietnamese representative, Dr. Nguyen Van Doan, VNMH’s deputy director, reported on the outstanding results of VNMH from 2015 to 2017. The report received high applause and appreciation from the meeting’s members. At this meeting, the delegates also discussed and approved the following issues: (1) approval to admit two new members: the National Museum of the Philippines and the National Museum of Myanmar; (2) Thailand’s request for free visits for all ANMA members when visiting national museums and historical parks in Thailand; (3) a change in ANMA's organizational structure for the Executive Board to establish a working team to consider extending ANMA members. This working team will include delegates from Thailand, Korea, Singapore, Philippines, India and Thailand; (4) some new initiatives such as the ANMA logo, ANMA membership card or a permanent secretariat.

Dr. Nguyen Van Doan giving speech at the Executive Board meeting

In addition to the issues mentioned above, the Executive Board also agreed that Malaysia will host ANMA 7 in 2019. ANMA's president Anandha Chuchoti handed the flag to Malaysian representative Azmi Ismail.

The meeting was well finalized and the participants agreed on the contents and signed the Memorandum of Understanding.

Delegates taking the photo

At the workshop entitled The Role of a National Museum in the World Climate Change and Cultural Sustainable Development, there were seven presentations by delegates from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Korea, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam. On behalf of the Vietnamese delegation, Dr. Truong Dac Chien reported Lessons from the behavior with environment of the ancient Vietnamese through the decorative patterns on Dong Son drum.

Dr. Truong Dac Chien presenting at the Workshop

While lecturers from other countries talked about the impact of climate change on museum operations, especially the preservation of artifacts, the Vietnamese delegation emphasized the history lessons learned from the study of patterns on the bronze drum, creating an interesting highlight of the workshop and attracting the attention of the audience.

In addition to attending the above-mentioned meetings, VNMH’s delegation participated in other activities under the program of the Organizing Committee: Buddhist imagery from Bharata to Suvarnabhumi on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Thai-Indian diplomatic relations, visits to some museums and collections such as the National Gallery, Royal Boat Museum (Bangkok); Kanchanapisek National Museum, Preservation storage of the National Museum, The Supreme Artist Hall, Bhumibol Adulyadej King's Archives Center, National Geological Museum (Pathumthani Province).

Participating in the Opening Ceremony of the special exhibition at the National Museum of Bangkok

Visiting the National Museum’s Archives at Pathumtani

Visiting the Archives Center of King Bhumibol Adulyadej

The Vietnamese delegation also had exchanges with ANMA delegates to set the basis for bilateral cooperation, for example with Asian Civilizations Museum (Singapore), National Museum of Indonesia, National Museum of Nepal, National Museum of Laos.

In summary, the mission of VNMH’ staff in Thailand was a success. This was an opportunity to announce the results of the VNMH in 2015 - 2017, as well as exchanging, learning and access to new knowledge about museums from other ANMA countries.

Trương Đắc Chiến