Vision and Values

Vision

Our vision is for natural and cultural heritage to be valued, sustained and communicated as it represents the shared histories, heritage and identities of all Australians.

Purpose

Museums Australia is the national organisation for the museums sector,  committed to the conservation, continuation and communication of Australia’s heritage.

As a non-government, non-profit body, Museums Australia promotes museum sector development, articulates ethical standards, facilitates training, advances knowledge, addresses issues, and raises public awareness through its national and international networks

Values

• MA champions its membership and the museums sector as resources for social development, based on equality of opportunity and support for intellectual, cultural and social diversity.
• MA promotes an understanding of heritage as including natural and cultural, tangible and intangible dimensions.  Heritage is conserved through particular objects and people, sites and places, events and narratives, music and performance, song, dance, scientific research, history and other human activities that convey knowledge and bear cultural meaning.
• MA affirms that governments and communities share responsibility to support and resource the conservation and communication of the nation’s heritage.
• MA believes that the distinctive work museums and galleries pursue in conjunction with communities in preservation, research, interpretation, education and public programming is critical to the conservation of the nation’s memory.
• MA recognises Australia’s Indigenous peoples as the nation’s First Peoples and is committed to ensuring that Indigenous people have control and management of their cultural heritage and are active participants in any interpretation to the wider community.
• MA supports ICOM’s  Australian National Committee – as MA’s ‘international committee’ – which offers important resources for extending the national museum sector’s contacts and access to international networks for professional development, partnerships and exchange.