The International Council of Museums –Malta (ICOM Malta) is inviting museums to participate on International Museum Day (IMD), which is held every year on May 18.

This day serves to raise awareness on the importance of museums in the development of society.

The worldwide community of museums will celebrate IMD with the theme ‘Museum and memory’. Museums store memory and tell stories. They have numerous objects in their collections that are basic to the memory of the communities we live in.

These objects are the expression of countries’ natural and cultural heritage. Many of them are fragile, some endangered and needing special care and conservation.

IMD 2011 will be an occasion for visitors to discover and rediscover individual and collective memory. It will focus on the African continent whose cultural contribution to the world is often unknown and deserves to be promoted.

The ICOM established IMD in 1977 to encourage public awareness on the role of museums in society. Momentum has been rising unabated ever since. In 2010, IMD garnered record-breaking participation, with almost 30,000 museums hosting events in more than 95 countries.

To promote IMD, ICOM Malta will be holding various events and open days at a number of museums and sites to highlight the importance of museums and tourism.

For more information, click ICOM-Malta on Facebook, e-mail romi_delia@hotmail.com or heritage.enterprise.au@gmail.com or visit http://malta.icom.museum/ .