Shreen Mohamed Amin Taher

Biography

Shreen Mohamed Amin Taher is an educator, curator and heritage consultant; and Head of the Scientific Office and the Children’s Museum at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir. Shreen holds a PhD in Heritage and Museum Studies from Helwan University, Cairo – in which her research explored the Interpretation Strategies of Industrial Heritage in the Museums of Egypt (2022). Shreen additionally holds a master’s in Cultural Heritage Management and Tourism Studies from University of Paris 1, Panthéon-Sorbonne (2015); and a BA in Archaeology from Cairo University (2004).

Shreen also holds a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Heritage Research and Conservation UNESCO / Kingdom Institute, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – AlUla Fellowships Programme. This programme, jointly facilitated by UNESCO and the Kingdoms Institute, offers a distinguished postdoctoral research opportunity in the field of heritage conservation and archaeological studies.

As Head of the Scientific Research Department, Shreen is responsible for overseeing research initiatives, managing scientific documentation, and ensuring the preservation and scholarly study of the museum’s collections. This role involves the development and implementation of research strategies aimed at advancing Egyptological and museological studies. In addition to coordinating scientific documentation efforts, Shreen facilitates interdisciplinary collaboration with international experts and institutions. This engagement enhances the museum’s contributions to global heritage research, fosters academic discourse, and strengthens educational outreach programs. The position plays a crucial role in expanding the museum’s scientific impact through innovative research methodologies and partnerships.

As a curator, Shreen contributes to the interpretation and presentation of the museum’s permanent and temporary exhibitions, ensuring thematic coherence and historical accuracy. Shreen works closely with the conservation teams to align curatorial narratives with preservation priorities, enriching the visitor experience through integrated storytelling.

Additionally, as Senior Education Manager and General Supervisor of the Children’s Museum at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo; Shreen designs interactive and age-appropriate educational initiatives that make ancient history accessible and engaging for children, integrating innovative teaching methods and multimedia resources to enhance their learning experience. This role requires strategic planning and collaboration with educators, researchers, and international institutions to ensure that the museum’s educational and outreach aligns with global best practices in museum education. By bridging the gap between academic research and public education, this role contributes to nurturing curiosity, critical thinking, and an appreciation for Egypt’s history among future generations.

Shreen is also a visiting lecturer and cultural heritage consultant at Helwan University. Within this role, Shreen designs and delivers specialised courses that focus on heritage conservation, museum management, and community engagement. Courses such as Community Engagement in the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Egypt (2023), Art History in the Context of Heritage (2023) and Heritage Management (2021-2023) were developed to equip students with practical skills and academic insights necessary for cultural heritage preservation. Shreen’s responsibilities also include academic mentoring, coursework assessment, curriculum planning, and facilitating scholarly discussions to advance students’ understanding of heritage studies.

In 2025, Shreen was the Scientific Lead for the Nefertari Exhibition Egyptian Museum and Italian Archaeological Centre, in which she led the preparation of scientific content for the exhibition, ensuring historical accuracy and public accessibility. From 2022-2023 Shreen participated as a Project Coordinator between the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, Egyptian universities, and a lecturer at the ReHeEd project (Reframing Heritage Education in Egypt). The main aim of the project was to redevelop heritage education in Egypt by creating a generation of qualified specialists in heritage education in different aspects of heritage studies, a discipline that is of extreme importance in Egypt. Moreover, the project aimed to develop research in the field of heritage education by introducing new technologies for documenting, preserving, presenting, and interpreting heritage collections, co-funded by the European Union Erasmus+ Programme.

Recently, Shreen’s article has been published in the 13th edition of the ICOM-CECA Best Practice Book 2025. Co-authored with Dr. Ali Abdelhaliem, General Director of the Egyptian Museum, and Ms. Heba Abdel Latif Mohamed, Head of the Greek-Roman Department at the Egyptian Museum – their educational programme ‘Egypt meets Greece and Rome: a Dialogue between Civilisations’ was selected from 29 submissions representing 21 countries. This recognition highlights the programmes innovative approach to intercultural dialogue and its exemplary contribution to global museums education. This publication is available online, open access, in English, French and Spanish: ICOM CECA Best Practice Book 2025 (Article, Page 235). 

In 2025, Shreen attended the 27th ICOM General Conference, funded by CIPEG-ICOM. Under the theme, ‘The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities’, the conference explored how museums can adapt and respond to global challenges. During the CIPEG Annual Meeting, Shreen virtually presented her paper ‘Exploring How Digital Storytelling, AR/VR, and AI Enhanced Public Understanding of Ancient Egypt’, which highlighted the transformative potential of technologies in creating inclusive, multisensory experiences that resonate with younger audiences and support ethical, community centred museum practices.

In 2019, Shreen attended the ICOM 25^th General Assembly in Kyoto, Japan. There she gave a presentation on the education approaches of the Egyptian Museum.

In 2017, she presented research at various conferences including City Museums in Egypt as Places for Human Respect at the CAMOC (ICOM), The Role of Museums in Keeping Tradition: Case Study, Nubian Museum in Egypt at the CEPIC, and Heritage Education for Children’s Mummification Workshop Approaches at the 1st Virtual Heritage International Conference, Cairo.

Recently, Shreen achieved a qualification as a Certified Artificial Intelligence Ambassador, recognised by the Egyptian Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology. This qualification involved training in areas such as machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing – skills which are not only important in Egypt’s digital transformation, but are also directly relevant to Shreen’ work in interpreting collections, supporting research projects with advanced analysis, and designing educational programmes that are more interactive and accessible.

At the British Museum
During her time on the International Training Programme in 2016, Shreen was based in the Department of Egypt and Sudan. Her UK Partner Museum was Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums, Newcastle.

In 2016 participants were asked to work with departmental mentors to develop a proposal for an Asahi Shimbun Display – a temporary exhibition in Room 3 at the British Museum, based around a single ‘spotlight’ object.  Shreen’s exhibition project proposal was entitled Tones of the Past.

Shreen’s place on the International Training Programme was generously supported by the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust.

Legacy Projects
In October 2016 Shreen presented at the conference and workshop Learning, Engagement and Museums hosted by Hayk Mkrtchyan (ITP 2014, Armenia) at Cafesjian Centre for the Arts in Yerevan, Armenia. Shreen used her experiences at the Children’s Museum to deliver a case study on children’s learning to ITP Fellows, UK partners and museum educators in Armenia. She was also a member of the working group Families against War.

Shreen successfully submitted a paper for the British Museum’s Annual Egyptological Colloquium, Displaying Egypt. With the support of the ITP she returned to the British Museum in July 2018 to deliver her paper, reconnect with colleagues and establish new working relationships.

In 2020, Shreen attended the International Training Programme’s series of online subject specialist sessions. Shreen attended:
Collecting COVID-19
The Samarkand Half Marathon, cultural accessibility and ‘going digital’ during COVID-19
Skill-Sharing Workshop: Interpretation and Label Writing
Egyptology in Lockdown: Connecting collections with isolated people

In 2022 Shreen was awarded an ITP Conference Grant to speak at the International Council of Museums Prague conference which she did online.

ITP Newsletter Publications
ITP Newsletter Issue 5 (2018), Learning and engagement: Children’s Museum of the Egyptian Museum
ITP Newsletter Issue 6 (2019), Connectivity in the 21st century: making collections accessible, Digital marketing at Egyptian museums
ITP Newsletter Issue 8 (2021) How museums in Egypt are responding to COVID-19: safety measures
ITP Newsletter Issue 8 (2021) Collection in focus: Stela of the Artisan Bay and the universal value of the Egyptian Museum