The future of museums isn't just about AI. It's about peace, justice, and dialogue.
MuseumWeek 2026 opens in 4 days — 7 days, 7 themes, 12 sessions, 50+ speakers from 25+ countries.
Organized by Culture For Causes Network with the support of UNESCO, and under the patronage of the French National Commission for UNESCO, this edition brings together an exceptional line-up of experts: UNESCO programme leads, ICOM specialists, museum directors, researchers, heritage practitioners, and policymakers — all exploring the same urgent question: what kind of world do we want museums to help build?
Here's what's coming 👇

🔐 June 1 — Museums × AI: State of Play
UNESCO presents its latest tools for protecting museums in the digital environment: AI-powered risk management, VR damage assessment, community-based digital documentation of movable heritage in conflict zones — with Karalyn Monteil (UNESCO Culture Sector), Corine Wegener (Cultural Heritage Protection Consultant), and Ihor Poshyvailo from the Museum of the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine, on the frontline of what it means to protect heritage during active war. 86 professionals already registered.

🔭 June 2 — Museums × AI: Futures
Four conversations on where museums are heading:
→ The UNESCO Virtual Science Museum — what it means to tell the story of science in many voices, from every region of the world
→ 艾琳 Ai Lin, Director of the Deji Art Museum (China) — what it actually looks like to build with AI, from a real installation presented in Samarkand to her vision for the next decade
→ Mohamed Zoghlami — AI bias on African heritage, digital restitution, and who gets to write the story of the African museum in 2050
→ Hélène Ventimiglia at ICOM — presenting the ANCHISE Project and what the museum sector can learn from EU-funded technological tools for heritage protection

🕊️ June 3 — Museums for Peace (Don't miss this one.)
"AI and UNESCO Heritage for Peace: Re-Imagining the Museum" brings together:
🇬🇧 Richard Davies at the British Library — on surviving one of the most significant cyberattacks ever suffered by a cultural institution 🇺🇦 Yuliya Vaganova, Director of the Khanenko Museum (Ukraine) — on protecting collections during active war 🕊️ Revd Canon Kate Massey at Coventry Cathedral — on reconciliation through heritage 🇮🇷 Mona Badamchizadeh at the Tehran Peace Museum — on museums as peacekeepers 🇸🇾 Isber Sabrine at Heritage for Peace NGO (Syria) — on the role of museums in conflict zones 🇫🇷 Jean-Emmanuel Maury at the French Ministry of Culture — on digital threats and the misuse of art for political messaging 🏛️ Ulrike Guérin at UNESCO Heritage for Peace — on the 1954 Hague Convention, today
56 professionals already registered.
In the afternoon: Sunna Altnoder at UNESCO presents the Virtual Museum of Stolen Cultural Objects — from its launch at MONDIACULT 2025 to a first restitution success story between Romania and the Netherlands.

🌍 June 4 — If Objects Could Speak
Museums and heritage sites as platforms for intercultural dialogue — with Jo-Anne Sunderland Bowe at the British Museum, Ayman Elsayed at the Grand Egyptian Museum, Leila Chapman at the Royal Commission for AlUla, and Lee Davidson at Victoria University of Wellington.
In the evening: Jonathan Talmi presents The Living Museum — the AI project that lets visitors converse with 1.2 million artifacts from the British Museum's digital collection. One of the most debated initiatives in the GLAM sector right now.

🌱 June 5 — Museums for the Planet
World Environment Day. Rachelle Kalee at ICOM reflects on the first edition of the ICOM Award for Sustainable Development Practice in Museums — 130 projects submitted from 58 countries, and what they reveal about the real state of museum climate action worldwide.

All sessions are free and open to all. Full program and registration → museum-week.org/event-list

MuseumWeek 2026 — Intelligences, Museums, Futures | 1–7 June | Under the patronage of the French National Commission for UNESCO | With IPSOS Synthesio and Feel IT Services