Welcome to the third issue of 2023. The conflict in Ukraine still shows no sign of a peaceful resolution, and not only is the human cost spiralling out of control, but the damage to monuments, institutions and cultural heritage is increasing daily, with unforgiving and irrevocable consequences. A dam has broken and the fertile landscape is imperilled. Moreover, the urgent calls for a coordinated response to global warming seem to go unheeded, and the possibility of catastrophic climate change increases daily, with consequences to our common cultural heritage, which also includes the landscape. We have seemingly learned nothing from the COVID pandemic and national governments continue to invest in increasing mass tourism, despite the effects of air travel on global warming, and to promote disinterested museum-going as a fundamental part of the post-COVID tourist economy. Every time our heritage is damaged, destroyed or placed at risk – whether through war or climate change – we all suffer the loss. Every time we accept mass tourism as a justification for museum activity, we become accomplices in the destruction of the planet. As a journal aimed at supporting reflective practice, we cannot stand back from the issues the world is currently facing. For those new to the journal, Museum Management and Curatorship, now in its 38th year, remains one of the world’s leading journals for museum professionals. When the journal was originally founded it was explicitly intended as a resource for museum practitioners. Museums and museum professionals need high-quality academic research on which to base new projects and inform current practices, and new methodologies to help critically analyse their success or failure. Now more than ever they also need examples of best practice in governance and communication, as new technologies continue to find their way into museums and libraries. The MMC remains and will continue to remain grounded in museum practice in all its geographical and cultural diversity. The MMC is one of the few truly international museum journals. It continues to publish contributions from around the world and is an important platform for scholars and professionals for whom English is not a first language. The MMC is not and cannot be a news magazine, but we are always looking at how best to respond as a journal to the current world situation and its challenges to the museum mission, while still retaining the scholarly rigour of a peer-reviewed journal, which by its nature takes time and often patience. The issue looks at the challenges being faced by museum professionals around the world, notably in China, including the growing presence of younger generations and how best to listen to them. As always, we invite all of our readers to contribute to our ongoing reflection with their own ideas by writing to the team at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you, and to working together to ensure the MMC continues to meet the needs of the entire museum field.
