Report: ICOMON 29^th Annual Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The International Committee of Money and Banking Museums (ICOMON) held its 29^th Annual Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from November 15 to 18, 2023. The Bank Negara Malaysia Museum and Art Gallery were hosts to 18 speakers and over 90 attendees, from all across the globe, with over 20 countries represented. The conference consisted of a pre-conference day of roundtables (15^th), two official days of presentations (16-17^th), and an excursion day (18^th).

A list of all the presentations features at the end of this page.

Conference website: https://museum.bnm.gov.my/icomonkl2023/

The Full conference presentations can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhPewiPi_Yw&ab_channel=MAGnify%21

 

Wednesday November 15, 2023

The opening day started with a visit at the Bank Negara Malaysia Museum and Art Gallery. The multi-floored Bank Negara Malaysia Museum consists of a Children’s Gallery, Islamic Finance Gallery, Numismatics Gallery, Bank Negara Malaysia Gallery, Art Gallery, and Economics Gallery. Interactive displays form an important component of the experience at the museum and support their education efforts. Later in the day, one of the roundtables was led by Cho Chun Loong, an Executive Committee Member for the Malaysia Numismatic Society, with a focus on Malaysian numismatics and collection management.

Roundtable discussion

Thursday November 16, 2023

The first day of the official conference started with an opening by Dr. Asma Ibrahim, Chair of ICOMON, followed by Dr Kaja Širok, Member of the Executive Board for ICOM, and then Marzunisham Omar, the Deputy Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia. After the opening of the conference, papers commenced at 10am and continued until 12:30pm for lunch (with a short coffee break in between). The day was capped by a visit to the Islamic Art Museum Malaysia, including a behind the scenes visit to their conservation lab. The evening was marked by a Gala dinner at Rumah Tansi Kuala Lumpur, with traditional dancing and performances.

Group photograph of all presenters

Friday November 17, 2023

The second day had papers from 930am until 1pm with a short coffee break in the middle. After lunch, a visit to MyMint, Bank Negara Malaysia – the newly opened (just in October 2023) coin mint for the central bank. The ICOMON attendees were the first outside visitors to this brand new facility which is one of the most modern in the world.
Group photograph outside MyMint

Saturday November 18, 2023

The final day was devoted to an excursion three hours outside Kuala Lumpur to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Melaka. Here the attendees were treated to tours highlighting the mixing of history and Dutch, English, Portuguese, and Malay culture all in one small city. After a visit to the Red Square and Stadthuys, the group was brought in twos, to the Melaka Sultanate Palace Museum in a colorful bicycle rickshaw ride. After lunch, the tour groups had the chance to visit the Baba Nyonya Heritage Museum before a festive closing dinner, where the ICOMON board expressed their gratitude to the organizing committee at Bank Negara Malaysia. As a final farewell, the participants were treated to an evening river boat ride through the beautiful lit Melaka before making the long drive back to Kuala Lumpur.

Bridge in Melaka

The ICOMON board expresses its immense gratitude and appreciation to Bank Negara Malaysia for hosting the event, and especially to Marzunisham Omar, the Deputy Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia; Alnizah Shamsudeen, Deputy Director at Bank Negara Museum and Art Gallery; Mohammad Fakhrullah Jamlus, Project Manager of ICOMON Kuala Lumpur 2023 at BNM; Izzul Hidayat Jalaluddin, Assistant Curator at Bank Negara Museum and Art Gallery; as well as the rest of the Bank Negara team that made this conference an absolute success: Naguib Ab Jabar, Mohd Naim Mat Isa, Izzul Hidayat Jalaluddin, and Noor Deen Anwar Deen.

 

Talks and Presentations

Wednesday

Roundtable discussion I (Conservation and Collection Management)
Presenter: Mr. Cho Chun Loong, Malaysia Numismatic Society
Moderator: Rasdiana Syazwani binti Adnan, Bank Negara Malaysia

Roundtable discussion II (Education Management)
Moderator: Mohd Faiz Naim bin Hassan, Bank Negara Malaysia

 

Thursday

Keynote Speech by Asma Ibrahim

Keynote Speech by Kaja Širok

Opening Speech and Launching of 29th Annual Conference of ICOMON by Deputy Governor Bank Negara Malaysia, Marzunisham Omar

 

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: One Year Retrospective from Yale
Presenters: Benjamin Healing and Emily Pearce Seigerman
Yale University Art Gallery, United States of America

Use of Generative AI in the Development of Museum Practices: Reviving the Past for a Sustainable Now and Future
Presenters: Singh, N., Ramakrishna S. A. and Nasir, M.A.
E Factor Experiences India, New Delhi, India

Opening the Vaults
Presenter: Paul Beliën
National Numismatic Collection, Dutch Central Bank, Netherlands

Triggering Curiosity at the Digital Treasury of the Dutch Central Bank
Presenter: Pim Möhring
National Numismatic Collection, Dutch Central Bank, Netherlands

Digitizing Exhibitions in Money Museums: Cambodia’s Experience
Presenter: Blaise Kilian
Museum of Economy and Money, Cambodia

Innovative Displays for Intangible Concepts. A Sustainable Approach
Presenter: Anareli Acosta Villegas
Museo Banco de Mexico, Mexico

Money Museums: What Relevance and How Sustainable?
Presenter: Dr Winani Thebele
National Museum of Bostwana, Botswana

Sustainability in Money Museums
Presenter: Ketevan Chitashvili
National Bank of Georgia, Georgia

 

Friday

Museum Reinvention in the Digital Age: Challenges, Opportunities, and Strategies for Sustainable Reinvention
Presenter: Alnizah Shamsudeen
Bank Negara Malaysia Museum and Art Gallery, Malaysia

Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Serving Coins and Medals in the Digital Age
Presenter: Majed Alotaibi
Ministry of Culture, Saudi Arabia

Keeping Digital Track: Applying QR Codes or RFID Tags to a Large Museum Collection
Presenter: Jesse Kraft
The American Numismatic Society, United States of America

One Too Many: Sustainable Collecting and Management
Presenter: Benjamin Hellings
Yale University Art Gallery, United States of America

The Pedagogical Side of the Coin
Presenter: Emily Pearce Seigerman
Yale University Art Gallery, United States of America

Rebuilding: Tradition and Innovation in the Museum
Presenter: Asma Ibrahim
State Bank of Pakistan Museum, Archives and Art Gallery

The Evolution of the Malaysian Ringgit
Presenter: Wan Muhammad Danial Wan Omar
Bank Negara Malaysia Museum and Art Gallery, Malaysia

Digitalization and Social Responsibility Challenges in Regional and International Context : The Case of the Bank Al-Maghrib Museum
Presenter: Rochdi Bernoussi
The Bank Al-Maghrib, Morocco