R-E-S-P-E-C-T

I am in Japan at the invitation of the Japanese Association of Museums (JAM) to give a number of speeches including the keynote at its annual conference in Nagasaki. This is my first time in Japan and it is a real assault to the senses – not least not being able to understand 95% of the words I see or hear. But the first and most obvious contrasts are between the respective museums associations and our conferences.

Like a number of museums associations, JAM is going through difficult times. Despite Japan having twice the number of museums of the UK, JAM is very small, with only 4 staff. It has a new director (young blood – he is 73) but his post has to be only 3 days a week. The government has withdrawn its funding and JAM is facing a real crisis. It is in danger of losing the critical mass that enables it to trade as a business and provide a decent service for its members.

It serves as a timely reminder that our Museums Association’s independence gives it the freedom that allows it to prosper and ensures its status as the second biggest museums association in the world.

With our annual conference in Bournemouth fresh in my mind, it is interesting to compare and contrast the two events. Similarities are obvious to see in both the subject matter and the way the event is run but the differences are more interesting:

· it is organised and subsidised by the local city

· the conference fees are much cheaper than in the UK

· of the delegates, more than 90% are men

· they dress much smarter than we do

· they have only 350 delegates and seven trade stands

· at their main social event, as well as the usual warm white wine, they hand out tumblers of scotch

· they have no concurrent sessions

· they accord me a huge amount of respect – certainly more than I get from UK delegates and my own colleagues

The latter innovation is something that I am thinking of making compulsory for our 2007 conference in Glasgow…