Museums can act as mediums for global cultural exchange, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that museums are not just visiting places for youth, they are career opportunities and can act as the medium of global cultural exchanges.

The government, he said is continuously working to preserve the rich cultural heritage of the country and building cultural infrastructure. Prime Minister said that the focus has been put on building local and rural museums.

Addressing the inauguration of International Museum Expo 2023 at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi, the Prime Minister said, "Today's occasion will bring a huge turning point in the world of museums in India. Museums are not just visiting places for our youth anymore. They are a career opportunity. They can act as the medium of global cultural exchange."

"Many of our manuscripts and libraries were burnt during the period of slavery, it was a loss not only of India but of the whole world and the whole of mankind," he added.

PM Modi said that in the Amrit Mahotsav, a new cultural infrastructure is being created along with efforts to preserve India's heritage.

"In the Amrit Mahotsav, along with preserving India's heritage, we are also building a new cultural infrastructure. In these efforts of the country, there is also the history of the freedom struggle and there is also a heritage of thousands of years," he said.

He said that after Independence the right efforts to preserve the country's heritage were not taken and this led to it led to a lack of awareness among the people.

"Unfortunately, the efforts that should have been made to preserve our heritage after independence could not be done, the lack of awareness among the people about the heritage increased even more... It has been announced that the main thing is pride in our heritage," said PM Modi.

Adressing the gathering he said that a museum has been built dedicated to the journey and contribution of all the former Prime Ministers of India.

"We have built a PM museum dedicated to the journey and contribution of all the former Prime Ministers of India in Delhi. Today, people from all over the country are coming to the PM Museum to witness India's development journey after independence," Modi said.

"We are building 10 special museums to immortalise the contribution of our tribal community in the freedom struggle. This is such a unique initiative in the whole world in which a comprehensive glimpse of tribal diversity is going to be seen," he added.

The International Museum Expo is being organised as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, to celebrate the 47th International Museum Day (IMD).

The IMD theme for this year is 'Museums, Sustainability and Well Being'.

The Museum Expo is designed to initiate a holistic conversation on Museums with museum professionals to enable them to evolve as cultural centres that play a pivotal role in India's cultural diplomacy.

The Prime Minister has also unveiled the mascot of the International Museum Expo, a graphic novel titled 'A Day at the Museum', the Directory of Indian Museums, a pocket Map of Kartavya Path, and museum cards.

The Mascot of the International Museum Expo is a contemporized version of the dancing girl made of wood in the Chennapatnam art style. During the programme, PM Modi also inaugurated a virtual walkthrough of the upcoming National Museum at the North and South Blocks. The Museum will highlight and showcase the country's rich civilizational culture, historical events, personalities, ideas, and achievements.