Each day will start with two keynote speakers, one international and one from Colombia, who will engage the attendees in a discourse around one of the following topics: community engagement, power sharing, and co-creation. The goal of these presentations is to generate diverse and thought-provoking reflections. These conversations are the new narratives that our museums and communities envision. Each afternoon, participants will visit local museums where they will have the opportunity to explore, learn and discuss how museums in Medellin are serving their community in new and different ways.

On October 23 Andres Roldan and Lath Carlson will discuss Community Engagement and the Future of Museums.

As Director of Parque Explora, Colombia’s largest science museum, aquarium and planetarium, Andrés Roldán leads his team in the creation of interactive and innovative learning environments that contribute to the public appropriation of scientific and technological knowledge. He also leads projects that dilute the museum’s walls and take it to different territories and communities, through workshops, community processes and itinerant experiences.

Andrés has a vast experience in the conceptualization, design and construction of exhibitions, as well as in the development of educational strategies. He also stands out for his administrative skills, planning, alliance making, management of interdisciplinary teams and fund-raising abilities.

As an active participant in Medellin’s transformation, Roldán’s work is based on the paradigm of socially committed museums. He believes the union between education, culture, urban planning and architecture is vital for fostering sustainable community development and working to solve deep social problems.

Lāth Carlson is the Director of the Museum of the Future (MotF) in Dubai UAE where they have already welcomed more than 1 million visitors in their first year of operation. Lāth, who has been at the forefront of technology and museum practice throughout his career, oversaw the completion of the museum building, as well as the development of exhibitions, technology solutions, staffing, retail operations, event operations, sales, and business planning.

Lāth’s experience in creating exhibitions began in 1991 at the University of New Mexico’s Maxwell Museum of Anthropology. He later worked as an interactive exhibit engineer at the Please Touch Children’s Museum in Philadelphia and the Franklin Institute Science Museum. From 2012 to 2015, Lāth held the position of Vice President of Exhibits and Content Development at The Tech Museum of Innovation in Silicon Valley. Before assuming the directorship of the Museum of the Future, he was a Founding Executive Director of Living Computers: Museum + Labs in Seattle, Washington.

On October 24 Linda Norris and William Gamboa will discuss Power Sharing

Linda Norris is Senior Specialist, Methodology and Practice at the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience (ICSC). She facilitates connections and builds the capacity of museums, historic sites,  and memory organizations in the work of using the past to create a more just future.

Linda has spearheaded Coalition projects such as the newly opened re-interpretation of Maison des Esclaves, Africa’s first World Heritage Site; community-based development of public art prototypes by Indigenous artists in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and an innovative partnership with Newcastle University that places interns in Sites of Conscience around the world.  She has led and worked on capacity-building projects for organizations ranging from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC,  the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, the War Childhood Museum in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Gulag.cz in the Czech Republic.

As the co-author of Creativity in Museum Practice Linda is an international thought leader in facilitating conversation and action surrounding the ways creativity can transform museums, shape more compelling narratives and create deeper, inclusive community connections. Her essay, “Yes, and:  Museums as Safe and Social Spaces” is included in What is a Museum? Perspectives from National and International Museum Leaders (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2022).

Before joining ICSC in 2017, Linda was an independent museum consultant, working on interpretive projects and capacity-building efforts with organizations throughout the United States and in Canada, Ukraine, Romania, and Albania.  Linda is also an adjunct instructor in the Johns Hopkins University Museum and Cultural Heritage Programs.

She has an M.A. in History Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program and an AB from Cornell University. Linda was a Fulbright Scholar to Ukraine in 2009 and has worked on numerous projects with Ukrainian museums and cultural heritage organizations since.

William Gamboa Sierra is a Conservator of Cultural Heritage, Museologist and Cultural Manager. He has 23 years of experience in research, cataloging, management and curating of museum collections and 1o years in teaching, research and academic direction.

Since 202o William has been the Chair of ICOM Colombia, and is currently the Advisor for Territorial Dimension, Museum of Memory Colombia – National Centre Historical Memory (CNMH).

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