NEMO – the Network of European Museum Organisations continues its commitment to the sustainable transformation with a three-day conference dedicated to inspiring museums to act for the climate. 300+ museum professionals from nearly 40 countries have gathered in Lahti, Finland, to fully tap into museums’ potential to contribute to a sustainable future.

NEMO’s European Museum Conference 2023 “and… ACTION! Museums in the climate crisis” offers a platform to discuss how museums can be part of the solution, reduce their negative impact on the climate, and inspire their communities to act. Museums will only remain relevant and trustworthy if they lead by good example.

Chair of the NEMO Executive Board, David Vuillaume, highlights that “Museums have a vital role in safeguarding and transmitting cultural legacy. Therefore, they should be at the forefront in the fight against climate change, which threatens our heritage. Museum networks such as NEMO can help museums to collaborate and share best practices. So, they can lower their carbon footprint and inspire their audience to take action.”

Lahti, which aims to be climate neutral by 2025 and was the European Green Capital 2021, presents the perfect backdrop for conference participants and museums to collectively gather strength and build strong alliances to contribute to global climate action. Drawing on learnings from NEMO’s recent report, participants get to explore small and big actions museums can take to support society in tackling climate change. With a European interactive map, launched at the conference, NEMO will collect and show how museums are already acting on the climate crisis. Starting now, NEMO encourages museums across Europe to participate in the crowdsource project by submitting their approaches, formats, and scopes. To further support museums to take political action in the climate crisis, NEMO also presents findings from its new research on museums and climate related policies.

About NEMO’s diligent work on climate change related issues, NEMO Secretary general Julia Pagel adds “The green sustainable transition is already happening, at every level and everywhere in Europe. It is NEMO’s task to connect the dots, share good ideas, bring actors together and create a shared, powerful voice of museums, positioning our professional community at the heart of a future-proof social and sustainable Europe.”

Petra Havu, CEO of the Finnish Museums Association and member of NEMO’s Executive Board, welcomes the 300+ participants, a NEMO conference record, with the words “The Finnish Museums Association is thrilled to highlight its 100th anniversary by hosting the NEMO European Museum Conference. Our mission has always been to bring museums together and promote progress. Fighting climate change requires co-operation if we want to see progress. It’s vitally important that we work together not only in Europe but also in the global museum community.”

NEMO’s European Museum Conference 2023 runs from 19-21 November is supported by the Finnish Museums Association, the Finnish Heritage Agency, the Finnish National Gallery, the city of Lahti and is co-funded by the European Union.

NEMO – Network of European Museum Organisations

The Network of European Museum Organisations (NEMO) was founded in 1992 as an independent network of national museum organisations representing the museum community of the member states of the Council of Europe. Together, NEMO’s members speak for over 30.000 museums across Europe. www.ne-mo.org

Contact at NEMO

Rebecca Thonander, Communications Officer, thonander@ne-mo.org

Finnish Museums Association

The main conference host the Finnish Museums Association and its subsidiaries serve the Finnish museum sector by providing services to both museum professionals and museums. We monitor the interests of the whole industry and serve the latest information on museums. We advocate on behalf of the industry and provide the latest information on museums in Finland. The core of the Finnish Museums Association Group is the Finnish Museums Association, founded in 1923.

Contact at the Finnish Museums Association

Miisa Pulkkinen, Head of Group Communications, miisa.pulkkinen@museoliitto.fi, +358 44 4300 719