SUSTAIN 2026 CONFERENCE

Museums for Our Futures: Sustain, Adapt, Regenerate

SUSTAIN is pleased to announce plans for its 2026 Conference, delivered in hybrid format. This format will ensure exchange, collaboration and encounters across the globe, all essential for ICOM’s work, while modeling a resource-efficient approach in the context of the current climate crisis.

The ICOM SUSTAIN Annual Conference 2026 will explore the evolving role of museums and cultural institutions in addressing the intertwined challenges of climate emergency, biodiversity loss, and social transformation.

Aligned with the theme of the International Museum Day 2026, “Museums in a Divided World,” the conference recognizes the urgent need for museums to act as spaces of dialogue, connection, and healing in increasingly fragmented societies. In this context, the proposed lines of Sustain, Adapt, and Regenerate are framed not only as conceptual approaches, but as pathways for concrete solutions, proposals, and practices that actively respond to the concerns raised by ICOM this year.

By fostering exchange across disciplines and geographies, the conference seeks to generate actionable insights and collaborative strategies that empower museums to bridge divides, strengthen social cohesion, and contribute to more just, resilient, and regenerative futures.

Under the theme, Museums for Our Futures: Sustain, Adapt, Regenerate, the conference invites museum professionals, ICOM members, cultural practitioners, researchers, and policymakers to engage with three interconnected lines of thought:

SUSTAIN

Focusing on sustainability and sustainable development, this track addresses how museums maintain and preserve cultural and natural heritage while improving operational practices, technical facilities, and environmental commitment, including sustainable development activities.

ADAPT

Responding to the climate emergency, this track explores climate action, risk management, institutional transformation, climate leadership, and the role of museums in fostering community resilience and collective responses to climate change and climate justice.

REGENERATE

Moving beyond sustainability, this track embraces regenerative approaches that aim to repair and restore ecological and social systems. It includes perspectives on reconciliation, social cohesion, ecological thinking, and the integration of diverse knowledge systems, including Indigenous and community-based approaches to envision other possible futures.

Conference Format

The conference will take place online as a distributed global event on 19 November 2026. The event will unfold across different time zones and different languages available, enabling global participation over 16 to 24 hours on that calendar day.

Call for Participation

ICOM SUSTAIN invites submissions for:

• Academic papers
• Practice-based presentations
• Case studies
• Artistic or experimental interventions
• Workshops or interactive formats for the hubs

Interdisciplinary and cross-cutting approaches are strongly encouraged.

Application Specifications

If you are interested in participating, please submit the following (Deadline 31 May 2026). Format the application with 12 point font, 1 inch margins and save the complete document as a PDF. Email to: secretary.sustain@icom.museum

• Title of the proposal
• Abstract (maximum 300 words)
• Selected track (Sustain / Adapt / Regenerate) with brief explanation
• Type of presentation (research paper, practice-based, intervention, etc.)
• Short biography (maximum 150 words)
• Co-presenters, if any (with short biographies – 75 words – for each)
• Email
• Your geographic location to help facilitate scheduling presentations over 16-24 hours.

Selection Criteria

Submissions will be evaluated based on:

• Relevant to conference themes
• Originality and innovation
• Contribution to practice and/or research
• Geographic and cultural diversity

All who submit proposals will be notified of selection decisions during August 2026.