WFFM North American Regional Meeting 2010

Canadian, American and Mexican Friends

April 18-20, 2010, Washington, DC

By Martha Wilder

On April 18th, 20 delegates from the Canadian, Mexican and American Federations met in Washington, DC for the first North American Regional Meeting held there since 2004.

The Mexican delegation was lead by their President, Elias Sacal Cababie, the American by their President John Barnum, and the Canadian by CFFM Board Members, Martha Wilder and Cynthia Armour. There were twenty-five delegates in all. The fabulous itinerary was organized by Nancy Barnum and Enid Hyde while John Barnum took charge of the interesting meeting agenda. The Americans proved to be a fun, stimulating and hospitable group!

Cynthia and I attended a cocktail reception at the Barnums’ apartment on the Sunday evening and had the opportunity to meet the American delegation, as well as fellow museum enthusiasts. On Monday we gathered at the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian for a special guided tour, followed by lunch in the cafeteria, featuring delicious Native American food. That afternoon we toured the 7th floor of the US. State Department, where the best of 18th Century American furniture, decorative art and paintings are displayed. The Curator of the Collection gave an insightful tour of these fine rooms. In the evening we were invited to USFFM Board Member Pam Peabody’s charming home in Washington for a light supper. There, we had our first introduction to the Mexican delegation (as they had been visiting different sites that day).

Tuesday was devoted to meetings held at John Barnum’s law offices, McGuire Woods.
We began with welcoming remarks from WFFM President, Danny Ben Natan (delivered by John Barnum), followed by reports from the respective countries. Highlights are summarized below.

Mexico:

Creation of two new regional chapters, one in the city of Zacatecas, which features the best in colonial art, and the other in Monterrey, a prosperous industrial city with a dynamic contemporary art scene
Second National Congress was held in Monterrey with presentations given by
Teodora Gonzales De Leon, architect, and Frederico Reyes Heroles, the foremost political and social analyst
Working on developing an agreement with Mexican culture authorities concerning the rules that should govern the relationship between museums and boards of trustees (FEMAM began only twenty years ago – “before that the Mexican government was the principle agency responsible for supporting and sponsoring Mexican culture”).
Developed program of guided tours designed specifically for young people and children
Now have their own offices thanks to the generous support of president Elias Sacal

United States:

In October 2008, the USFFM held a strategic planning retreat to identify ways to expand US Board, increase membership and strengthen programs

Have begun to achieve goals:

Update web-site
Increase outreach to other US organizations, such as American Association of Museums
Expand newsletter to promote awareness
Develop a power-point presentation for USFFM board members to disseminate information
Identify and consult with colleges offering museum education in order to reach young people entering the museum field, and educate them about the important role of volunteers.
Create programs to train volunteers to interface with museum staff and volunteers
Develop youth programs in museums in order to provide computer training for older volunteers, and to promote community volunteer projects.
USFFM will award grants to museums of $1,000 each to support existing or new educational initiatives designed for students from K through 12

Canada:

Central office has been moved from Toronto to Ottawa to facilitate closer working relationship with the Canadian Museum Association
Quebec branch has closed
Joan Goldfarb and Marie Tremblay-McNiven are new Co-Presidents
Inaugurated Volunteer of the Year Award at Annual CMA Conference
Membership is declining
Initiating a National Volunteer Survey to better understand needs of constituents and stakeholders

Following the formal reports there was a lively discussion on the role of volunteerism – an opportunity to compare experiences in the different counties.

Lunch, featuring speaker: Jack Rasmussen, Director and Curator of the American University Katzen Arts Center, on “The Future of Museums”

Panel Discussion: “What can we do to attract young people to museums?”

Carol Wilson – Smithsonian American Art Museum
Maretta Hemsley-Wood, along with student intern – Air & Space Museum
Connie Pirtle – American Association for Museum Volunteers

Ideas generated:

Young people want to interact and engage in free choice learning
Free admission for all under 18
“Touch me” aspect for the young
Have tours for the handicapped
Use video-conferencing in order to allow remote access
Plan and pre-post tour questions and answers
Encourage feedback

Round Table Discussion to brainstorm common challenges and strategies (facilitated by Cynthia Armour):

STRATEGIES for Friends

Define the goal to attract members
Identify a gap with the American Association of Museums (AAM) and the Canadian Museum Association (CMA) that we can fill and work more closely with them
Feed them (to bring youth to museums)
Increased internet presence – virtual on-line events
Ask WFFM how they can help us more
Continue to meet internationally
Create a speaker’s bureau (WFFM)
USFFM is linked on all related sites
Need to raise awareness
Regional areas with simultaneous events
Provide workshop on volunteer recruitment to museums and include a year’s membership upon registration

It was an interesting, fun and productive two days on behalf of museums and volunteers. I think it is best expressed by Mexican Dr. Gerardo Estrada in his closing remarks:

“Finally we would like to reiterate our commitment to the objectives and the cause of the World Federation of Friends of Museums, because we are convinced that culture and art are the best patrimony that our countries possess and they are the ideal bridge of communication between different peoples… we are convinced that all cultures are built on the basis of what all human beings share in common: our sensibility, our anguish, and our capacity to create and imagine. That is the value that each one of the museums in the world should create. Thank you very much.”