ICOM, short for the International Council of Museums, is the leading international non-governmental organisation bringing together museums and museum professionals from around the world. Its main goal is to preserve, conserve and share the world's cultural and natural heritage, promoting international cooperation and professionalism in the sector.
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Mission:
ICOM works to ensure that museums are tools for cultural exchange, accessible to everyone and focused on developing mutual understanding, cooperation and peace.
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Activities:
The organisation sets professional standards and defines the mission of museums through a code of ethics and an official definition used internationally.
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Community:
It brings together more than 57,000 professionals and institutions from 138 countries, organised into 127 National Committees and 34 thematic International Committees.
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Events:
ICOM organises the General Conference of Museums every three years and promotes International Museum Day (IMD) on 18 May each year to raise public awareness.
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Advisory role:
ICOM maintains formal relations with UNESCO and holds consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
https://icom.museum/en/
https://www.icom-italia.org/
CIPEG stands for the
International Committee for Egyptology, a specialised committee within ICOM (the International Council of Museums). Its mission is to promote collaboration among international professionals for the study, conservation and presentation of collections, monuments and sites of Ancient Egypt and ancient Nubia.
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What is ICOM: The international organisation representing museums and museum professionals worldwide.
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CIPEG's mission: To further the study and conservation of Egyptian and Nubian heritage, facilitating collaboration among specialists worldwide.
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Activities: In addition to being a meeting point for professionals and scholars, CIPEG also publishes a peer-reviewed journal, the *CIPEG Journal: Ancient Egyptian & Sudanese Collections and Museums*, to disseminate information and studies.
https://cipeg.icom.museum/
The International Association of Egyptologists (IAE) is the leading non-profit professional organisation uniting scholars and scientists from around the world who study the ancient cultures of Egypt.
Key Information
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Mission: The IAE's mission is to encourage the study and conservation of the cultural and historical heritage of the ancient inhabitants of the Nile Valley, to promote the scientific development of Egyptology and to facilitate international collaboration among professionals.
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Activities: The association advocates for the conservation of archaeological heritage, condemns the illicit trade in antiquities, and requires its members to adhere to a strict code of professional and ethical standards. It provides resources such as directories of Egyptological institutions and study programmes worldwide.
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International Congress of Egyptologists (ICE): The IAE organises the International Congress of Egyptologists (ICE) roughly every four years. It is a major event for the field, where research and developments are discussed. The 13th ICE was held in Leiden, the Netherlands, in August 2023.
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Online Egyptological Bibliography (OEB): The IAE is closely associated with the Online Egyptological Bibliography (OEB), a key resource for the field, which members can access through a joint subscription.
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Membership: The IAE offers several categories of individual membership: Professional, Associate, Student and Honorary, catering to scholars, students and non-scholars with a special interest in Egyptology.
www.iae-egyptology.org
The World Mummy Studies Society is a non-profit international organisation bringing together academics and specialists from various fields to promote the ethical study of mummified human remains.
Overview
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Mission: To educate, expand knowledge and provide a global resource for the study of mummies and best practices in analytical techniques.
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Approach: It uses interdisciplinary and collaborative methods, guided by local communities, to investigate what can be learned from past populations. The information gathered aims to contribute to our current understanding of health and disease.
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Members: The society welcomes researchers and students from a range of fields, including anthropology, archaeology, forensic medicine, history, medicine and museology.
Activities
The society facilitates collaboration and knowledge-sharing, often in partnership with other institutions such as the Institute for Mummy Studies at Eurac Research in Bolzano, Italy. A key event associated with the society is the World Congress on Mummy Studies (WMC), a major international conference where researchers present their findings.
Recent congresses include:
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10th WMC: held in Bolzano, Italy, in September 2022, focusing on topics such as bioarchaeology, palaeopathology, conservation and new imaging techniques for mummy research.
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11th WMC: held in Cusco, Peru, in 2025.
Fields of research
The study of mummies involves a wide range of scientific and humanistic approaches, including:
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Palaeopathology: the study of ancient diseases, such as atherosclerosis or infections, to understand their evolution and impact on human health.
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Genetics and Palaeogenetics: analysis of ancient DNA to gain insight into population history, genetic predisposition to disease and the evolution of pathogens.
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Conservation: the development of techniques and protocols for the conservation of mummified remains and associated artifacts.
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Imaging: the use of advanced techniques such as computed tomography to study mummies non-invasively and perform "digital autopsies".
https://worldmummystudies.org/
The Italian Archaeological Academy (Ac.A.I.) is an Italian cultural institution based in Genoa, active at an international level. Its roots are firmly Turinese, as it draws inspiration from the many cultural initiatives promoted and supported by King Charles Albert of Sardinia in the then capital of his kingdom during the first half of the 19th century. Over the years the Academy has carried out an almost continuous programme of activities, adapting its structures to the needs of the times and broadening the scope of its expertise beyond archaeology in the strict sense to encompass everything related to antiquity: starting from the term's Greek etymological meaning (archaiologhia), it turned from the outset to the study of ancient things — that is, the science of antiquity, viewed in its relations with history, the arts, institutions, religions, customs, languages and anything else that might further its understanding. Its headquarters, originally in Turin, were later moved to Rome and then to Genoa. Some of its academicians have included: Giorgio De Chirico, Nobel laureate Daniel Bovet, around thirty Cardinals including Ottaviani, Bertone, Secretary of State of the Vatican, and Raffaele Farina, Rector Magnificus of the Pontifical Salesian University, the Honourable Andreotti (as a writer), Prime Minister Giuseppe Pella, Paolo Emilio Taviani, Pedro J. Ramírez, founder of three newspapers (El Mundo, Diario 16 and El Español), and around fifty Rectors of universities from around the world. More recently, Dr. Zahi Hawass, the famous Egyptian Egyptologist — a sort of Indiana Jones with his unmistakable hat, former Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Egyptian Antiquities — was appointed an Honorary Academician.
https://www.accademiaarcheologicaitaliana.it/
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