Ten upcoming young museum professionals from around the world gathered in the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) in Amsterdam to discuss the 'crisis of the ethnographic museum'. What is the relevance of these former colonial museums in todays society? Can they make a difference? The ten papers presented show that they still do. In every part of the world individuals and institutions are trying to find innovative ways to make heritage of the past relevant for the present. From culture banks in Africa to museum cooperatives in Asia and collection libraries in Europe -- the different case-studies show that the ethnographic museum has a bright future, in North and South, as long as we do not cling to the term 'ethnographic' or the term 'museum'. The conference Museums, Society & Development and this publication were produced by KIT as part of the EU-funded Culture and Development programme that was carried out by CulturCooperation e.V. (Hamburg, Germany) between 2005 and 2008.
Paul Voogt is a manager in the cultural field with 20 years of professional experience, both nationally and internationally, ans is currently director public programmes of the Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam.
