ITP Conference Grant 2025 Dubai reports!!

Written by Claire Messenger, Manager, International Training Programme

In 2025 we were delighted to award ITP Conference Grants to Aprille Tijam, Associate Director and Head of Exhibitions and Collections, Ayala Museum (Philippines, ITP Fellow 2019); Marine Mkrtchyan, Director, The Museum of Russian Art (Aram Abrahamyan Collection); Director, “Association of Museum Workers and Friends” NGO and Lecturer, State Academy of Fine Arts of Armenia (Armenia, ITP Fellow 2014) and Nagwa Bakr, Training Department Director, National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (Egypt, ITP Fellow 2019).

Aprille, Marine and Nagwa used their grants to attend the The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities, ICOM General Conference 2025 in Dubai from 11 to 17 November 2025.

The ICOM General Conference happens every three years and is ICOM’s flagship event which brings together museum professionals from around the world to engage in dialogue on the most pressing issues facing the museum sector.

For 2025 the host city was Dubai which marked a historic moment, with Dubai the first city in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia to organise this prestigious international event since ICOM’s establishment in 1946.

The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities focused on the opportunities and challenges in an ever-changing world where communities and museums navigate through three interconnected sub-themes – safeguarding of intangible heritage, youth power, and the rise of new technologies.

Aprille, Marine and Nagwa have written fascinating reports to share their ICOM experience where you can read more about the conference theme, the rich cultural scene in Dubai and the UAE and the array of social and cultural events on offer.  Read about the experiences of each fellow by clicking on their names below.

Aprille P. Tijam, Associate Director and Head of Exhibitions and Collections, Ayala Museum (Philippines, ITP 2019).

Marine Mkrtchyan, Director, The Museum of Russian Art (Aram Abrahamyan Collection); Director, “Association of Museum Workers and Friends” NGO and Lecturer, State Academy of Fine Arts of Armenia (Armenia, ITP Fellow 2014).

Nagwa Bakr, Director of the Training Department, National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation (NMEC), (Egypt, ITP 2019).

We were delighted to be able to support Aprille, Marine and Nagwa to attend the ICOM General Conference 205 – it sounds like it was a wonderful event and a real ITP networking opportunity – and we are grateful to them for their fantastic, evocative reports to share with our ITP global network.