Sponsored by the Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) under its Dispatch Expert Program to the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) centers, museum studies professor Dr. Eiji Mizushima of the University of Tsukuba will provide technical advice to the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) in its efforts to establish a Southeast Asian AgriMuseum and Learning Center on Agricultural and Rural Development (ARD). The first of its kind in the region, the proposed AgriMuseum is envisioned to feature the history and future of agriculture in Southeast Asia and serve as venue where the poor and the visionaries in agricultural and rural development (ARD) would come together in one exhibition, said Dr. Gil C. Saguiguit, Jr., SEARCA Director.
During his visit to SEARCA on 6-10 March 2017, Dr. Mizushima will deliver a public lecture titled "Museums in an Information Society: From Collection to Digital Archives" as part of SEARCA's Agriculture and Development Seminar Series (ADSS) on 6 March 2017 (Monday), 3 p.m. at its Drilon Hall.
Dr. Mizushima teaches at the Graduate School of Library, Information and Media Studies at the University of Tsukuba, Japan. He has served as President of the Japan Museum Management Academy (JMMA), Founder/President and Chief Executive Officer of the Museum and Culture Advanced Research Centre in Asia Pacific (MARC-ASPAC), and former Vice-Chair of the International Council of Museums (ICOM)-Japan. The ICOM is a network of more than 35,000 members and museum professionals representing the global museum community. He currently sits as a member of ICOM's Disaster Relief Task Force (DRTF) and sits as Board Member of ICOM/ICOFOM (Museology Committee). He has published more than 30 books on museology and museum management and sits in the editorial board of the International Journal of Intangible Heritage and Museum International published by the National Museum of Korea and ICOM, respectively. Since 2005, he has engaged in consultancies for museums in Libya (Tocra Archeological Open Air Museum), Turkey (Aya Sophia Museum), China (Great Learning Center), and Korea (Map and Peace Museum).
The museum studies expert obtained his doctorate degree in world heritage studies from the University of Tsukuba after completing his graduate certificate at the Ecole Nationale du Patrimoine (now National Institute of Cultural Heritage) in Paris in 1996. He got his bachelor's degree on conservation sciences and chemistry from the Tokyo University of Science, then joined the Japan Science Foundation/Science Museum in 1981 as curator where one of his initial achievements was working on the exhibition system design for science museums. He also planned and designed the Japan History Pavilion at Tsukuba International Science Expo in 1985. From 1987 to 1988 and from 1993 to 1997, he worked at the La Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie, which is based in Paris, France and known as the biggest science museum in Europe. He also worked at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (Atelier de Bellevue) while on scholarship from Japan Science Foundation.
During his visit at SEARCA, Ms. Maria Isabel O. Garcia, Curator of The Mind Museum located at Bonifacio Global City, will also deliver a public seminar at SEARCA on her experience in putting up and sustaining The Mind Museum on Tuesday, 7 March 2017, 10:00 a.m.