Abstract
This paper presents the case study of the Civic Board of the Maritime and History Museum of the Croatian Littoral in Rijeka, Croatia, established as a participative management model in 2018. Its seven members, who include two representatives of the museum and five members representing respective NGOs, are selected every three years through a public call for participation, following a formally proscribed application and selection criteria. The central task of the Board is to manage part of the museum programming by encouraging citizens to get involved in proposing and implementing programs based on the needs of the local community and through the organisations of which they are members. The activities of the Board and their socio-cultural significance have been explored through qualitative research that entailed an analysis of the documents related to the goals of the Board, conducted programmes and interviews with the past and present members. The study reveals a range of complexities resulting from the museum’s collaboration with formally organised communities of interest and/or practice around the NGOs, which mostly relate to particular agendas and the ways in which the institution and organisations understand their role in the participative process. In addition to explaining the benefits and challenges, the paper considers the implications that this type of participative management model can have for museum work in general.
Presenters
Željka MikloševićAssociate Professor, Department of Information and Communication Sciences, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Croatia
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
NGO, LOCAL COMMUNITY, MUSEUM, PARTICIPATION, MUSEUM MANAGEMENT
