Socratic dialogue on energy and sustainability

AIC Annual Meeting
San Francisco
Room to be announced
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
4:30 - 6:30 PM

Pre-Meeting Session: "Energy and Sustainability--at what cost?  A
    Socratic Dialogue"

Moderator:

    Dr. W. (Bill) Wei, Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed,
    Amsterdam

The theme of the AIC annual meeting 2014 in San Francisco is
"sustainability".  Based on a brief discussion at the beginning of
last year's business meeting, one of the big, interesting, and
controversial issues will be energy and museum climates.  Museums
want to cut their high energy costs, among others, by loosening
stringent indoor climate requirements/standards which require the
use of expensive HVAC systems.  What should those new
requirements/standards be, who decides, and who should write them?
What effect will the new standards have on a (partial) collection or
specific type of object?

What better way to warm up (rather than heat up) for the meeting
than to take part in the Socratic dialogue on the subject of energy,
climate, and sustainability in museums.

The Socratic dialogue is a structured form of dialogue in which all
participants actively contribute.  The purpose of the dialogue is
not to answer the question at hand, and it is not to convince others
of one's position.  In fact, participants are asked to put their own
opinions and judgments aside.  The goal is to determine the essence
behind the museum climate issue.  What is it that conservators,
conservation scientists, and other cultural heritage professionals
are concerned about when they discuss indoor climate requirements,
and why is the topic so controversial? The Socratic dialogue will
help the participants understand what is behind the this discussion
revolving around energy, sustainability and museum/storage climate,
and go into the meeting with a more thoughtful and open mind.

This is your chance to listen and to be heard on this issue.  It's a
good way to end your field trip day, or start the meeting.  Welcome.

Dr. W. (Bill) Wei
Program Manager
"Sustainable Heritage"
Senior conservation scientist
Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 27:38
                   Distributed: Sunday, April 6, 2014
                       Message Id: cdl-27-38-010
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