News

Mountain museums form new alliance

21.12.2015

The directors of six mountain museums met at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome, Italy, on 11 December for the signing ceremony of the Mountain Museums Alliance (MMA). This free association among alpine and mountain museums aims to define a network of collaborations between mountain museums to link together the cultural activities of the world’s mountains. The ceremony took place under the auspices of the Mountain Partnership during International Mountain Day 2015.

Representing the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Tatra and the Canadian Rockies, the initial six museums forming the alliance are the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies of Banff (Canada), the Musée Alpin of Chamonix (France), the Museo Nazionale della Montagna of Turin (Italy) , the Tatrzańskie Museum of Zakopane (Poland), the Slovenski Planinski Muzej of Mojstrana (Slovenia) and the Servei General d'Informació de Muntanya of Sabadell (Spain). The Museo Nazionale della Montagna will serve as the MMA headquarters.

The six signatory members were:

• Vincent Varga, Director of the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies (Canada);
• Gabrielle Michaux, Director of the Musée Alpin of Chamonix (Italy);
• Anna Wende-Surmiak, Director of the Muzeum Tatrzańskiego of Zakopan (Poland);
• Miro Eržen, Vice President of the Slovenian Alpine Club and representing the Museum of Mojstrana (Slovania) and
• Carles Capellas and Josep Paytubi, Directors of the Servei General d'informació de Muntanya of Sabadell (Spain).
  
  

“We are pleased to see the cultural value of mountains elevated in Europe with this new alliance” said Rosalaura Romeo of the Mountain Partnership Secretariat.

After its formal institution, the alliance aims to grow. Museums and museum-type documentation structures that are be part of the MMA must be linked to national alpine clubs or other such bodies that for their very nature are involved internationally with mountains and mountaineering and at local level

Read more