The workshop “Museum Development Strategies On the Example of the National Museum Kraljevo” led by Prof. Milica Božić Marojević, PhD, director of the Center for Museology and Heritology of the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Belgrade, was held in the Gallery of the National Museum Kraljevo, on Thursday, May 25th, 2023. The workshop was organized so that the curators, through joint teamwork, could define the mission and vision of their institution. According to the methodology of the workshop, the introductory part was implemented first, in which the lecturer and participants introduced themselves, including the jobs and projects they lead. After that, prof. Milica Božić Marojević introduced the workshop participants to the theoretical starting points related to strategic planning in museums, the prerequisite of which is the formation of the institution’s mission and vision.
A mission statement is the lifeblood of any museum. It defines and explains the educational focus of the museum, its purpose of existence, role in society and responsibility towards the collections. It presents a broader description of what the museum does and why it does it. The mission statement underpins everything the museum does: vision, policy-making, planning and activities, and the strategic plan is based on it. It affects museum policies, programs, and employee behaviour. Each museum has its own unique history, community and set of challenges, and the mission must reflect that. On the other hand, vision focuses on what we aspire to be in some future period, and not what we will actually do then. In addition to presenting where we want to go, it is easy to read and understand, depicts the spirit of the museum and describes the desired and meaningful future state.
In the next step, a phase of practical independent work was carried out, where all participants presented their results. Examples of good practice were reviewed and then the participants divided into three groups, with the task of first conceptualizing the mission and then the vision of the Museum. Thus, in both cases, three solutions, that is, three views of the same problem, were reached. By working together and adopting the best parts of each of these solutions, a unique mission and vision of the institution was finally reached, around which a consensus of all participants was made.
The workshop was held in cooperation with the Center for Museology and Heritology of the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Belgrade.