ASEAN MUSEUM CONGRESS. What is the fundamental role and purposes of museums in society? How can museums be more inclusive while addressing the divisions and inequities that were magnified during the COVID-19 pandemic? Let us discuss these questions with anthropologist Dr. Christina Kreps, on October 27, 2021 on the second day of the #ASEANMuseumCongress. In her paper presentation entitled “The Role of Museums during the Pandemic: Steering Engagement towards Greater Inclusivity”, anthropologist Dr. Kreps will discuss how museums in the world are engaging and educating their audiences on issues of diversity, inclusion, and solidarity. This is in the context of how the pandemic has magnified the divisions and inequities among nations in the world. Dr. Kreps, who is also the director of Museum and Heritage Studies and Museum of Anthropology at University of Denver, has observed that museum conversations are mostly on the response of the institutions to the pandemic, which is the utilization of the digital platforms to shift museum exhibitions and programs to the virtual realms. However, the same pandemic that pushed the maximum use of technology is also the same trigger that shed slight on the inequities on local, national, and global levels. Thus, with the halt in personal interactions, the museums are again asked of its fundamental role and purposes in society. “I offer examples for how museums can highlight our common humanity without eliding our differences, which hold promise for imagining alternative, more just and equitable futures. I suggest that while the urgency of the now requires attention to the practical, it also opens possibilities for revisiting long standing educational goals and missions and reframing them to meet challenges of our times,” said Dr. Kreps. ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Dr. Christina Kreps is the chairperson of the Department of Anthropology, University of Denver. She is also the co-editor of Routledge Series Museum Meanings, a book series “that explores diverse aspects of the shifting social, cultural and political significance of museums and their agency beyond, as well as within, the cultural sphere.” Dr. Kreps is also a Research Associate at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. A widely published author, her research and published works tacked various topics including museum anthropology, anthropology and critical theory of museums, indigenous and decolonizing methodologies, cross-cultural and comparative museology, international cultural policy and development, among others. Her studies are on Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam) and The Netherlands. Today, October 21, is the last day to register. Open to museum professionals and those working in the museum sector, the ASEAN Museum Congress 2021 is on October 26-28, 2021. You may register online at https://bit.ly/3zNRXeo. For more information, email us at communications@nationalmuseum.gov.ph or at ASEANMuseumCongressPH@gmail.com. Register now to secure your participation! © National Museum of the Philippines (2021)