Workshop 1
Workshop 1: Reimagining University Collections as SDG-driven Museums
Poster: UMAC Workshop_ICOM Greece_updated
University museums and collections are increasingly recognised as important actors in advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, in diverse global contexts, spanning both the Global North and the Global South, these collections often face structural, financial, and institutional barriers that limit their potential to operate as socially engaged and impactful museums.
This interactive workshop brings together young professionals, researchers, and practitioners to explore how university collections can be reimagined and transformed into inclusive, community-oriented, and sustainability-driven museum spaces.
Drawing on insights and methodologies developed through the University of St Andrews and ICOFOM-led, SAREC-supported project "Young People Shaping the Future of Museology through the Lens of the SDGs", the session foregrounds youth and student audiences as active agents of change rather than passive participants and will feature real-life video case studies from project partners across diverse global contexts.
Through a combination of short provocations, peer exchange, and co-creation activities, participants will critically reflect on the challenges and opportunities within their own institutional contexts. Attention will be given to locally grounded, resource-sensitive approaches that prioritise inclusion, traditional knowledge, and community engagement.
While the workshop is targeted at participants from ICOM Category 3–5 countries, it remains open to all conference attendees interested in rethinking the role of university museums in a rapidly changing world.
Maximum participation: 25 people.
Registration: Workshop registrations will open in September.
Workshop Organisation and Delivery
Jamie Allan Brown
Qualifications: BA, DipES, MLitt, MBA
Jamie Allan Brown is an award-winning museum and heritage scholar specialising in cultural diplomacy, sustainability, and the creation of transformative global partnerships. His work harnesses the diplomatic and policy influence of museums and heritage sites as spaces for partnership, reflection, civic dialogue, and collective action towards a more sustainable and shared future.
Since August 2016, Jamie has led research and partnership-building within the UK's No. 1 School of Art History at the University of St Andrews, advancing world-leading work on museums, sustainability, cultural diplomacy, and heritage-led development. In this role, he designs, manages, and delivers major international programmes, fosters strategic collaborations with governments, NGOs, museums, policy bodies, and academic institutions, and supports the University's global mission through impactful research, governance, reporting, and international partnership facilitation.
Special Participation
Penelope (Peny) Theologi-Gouti
Head Curator, Science and Technology Museum, University of Patras, Greece
Chair, ICOM Greece
Chair, ICOM Resolutions Committee 2025
UMAC Founding Member
Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques
