International Conference
Social Museology, Sustainability and Community-based Collections Management

Joint Conference of ICOM COMCOL & SOMUS
Museo Sitio de Túcume, Peru
August 16-20, 2026

Dear COMCOL and SOMUS friends, dear interested audience,

We are delighted to announce the opening of the registration for our upcoming conference. Please not that due to the location, places are limited. Below you will also find some information about the program, locations and travel information.

Conference Theme

This conference invites participants to reflect on the relationships between museums, collections, communities and territories, particularly in contexts where museums act as facilitators of cultural continuity, social participation and sustainable development. Find the original call for papers here: Link call for papers.

Registration

Please follow the link to discover our registration formular, as well as information about fees: Registration Link

Venues of the conference

Túcume Site Museum:
The Museum is located at the foot of Cerro Purgatorio and surrounded by the 26 pyramids that make up the Túcume Archaeological Complex in northern Peru. Founded on August 20, 1992, the museum has developed a long-standing model of collaborative heritage management, integrating archaeological research with social engagement and community participation.

https://museos.cultura.pe/museos/museo-de-sitio-t%C3%BAcume
Museo de Sitio Túcume
Acceso al Museo, Túcume 14120

Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo University – USAT, Audiotrium
https://www.usat.edu.pe/
Av v. San Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer Nº 855 Chiclayo – Perú

Overview of the program

DAY 1 PROGRAM: SUNDAY, AUGUST 16
Venue: MULTIPURPOSE HALL OF THE TÚCUME MUSEUM

8:30–9:00 — Reception and participant check-in
9:00–9:50 — Opening Remarks and Welcome: Inauguration of Rafo León’s art exhibition
10:15 — Presentation of the participation methodology, Panels and group sessions
10:20–12:20 — Panel I: From the Margins: Social Museology Sustaining Communities
13:00 — Lunch (on your own)
13:45–15:30 — Group Session I: Opening up established museums: some collaborative initiatives
15:45–17:30 — Group Session II: Challenging narratives, embracing plural epistemologies
17:45–19:00 — Group Session III: Sustainable practices: preserving with communities
20:00 — Inaugural Dinner. Venue: Esplanade of the Túcume Museum
ARTISTIC PERFORMANCE

DAY 2 – MONDAY, AUGUST 17
Venue: TÚCUME MUSEUM AUDITORIUM

8:30–9:00 — Reception and participant check-in
9:15–11:15 — Panel II: Collections provoking agency
Coffee break
11:25–13:00 — Panel III: Social Museology and collections management
13:00 — Lunch (on your own)
14:00–16:00 — Group Session IV: Tackling systemic issues, transforming the museum
Coffee break
16:15–17:45 — Group Session V: Insurgent museologies and disobedient practices

DAY 3 – TUESDAY, AUGUST 18
Venue: AUDITORIUM of the Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo University – USAT

9:30–11:00 — Group Session VI: Accessible data? Sharing collections in the digital era
COFFEE BREAK
11:30–13:00 — Group Session VII: Preserving knowledge, passing on traditions
Closing Discussion
13:30 — Lunch (on your own)

Venue: TÚCUME MUSEUM AUDITORIUM
15:00–16:00 — SOMUS Annual General Assembly (members only) — Multipurpose Hall, Túcume Museum
15:00–16:00 — COMCOL Annual General Assembly (members only) — Túcume Museum Auditorium

DAY 4 – FRIDAY, AUGUST 19

• VISITS TO LAMBAYEQUE MUSEUMS
• NIGHT OPENING: THE MAGIC OF THE MUSEUM AT NIGHT

DAY 5 – SATURDAY, AUGUST 20

• TÚCUME MUSEUM ANNIVERSARY CEREMONY / INTERCULTURAL FESTIVAL: TERRITORIES IN ACTION

 

Travel Information

Nearest airport: Chiclayo International Airport, (CIX/SPHI), Peru (can be reached via Jorge Chávez International Airport)

Hotels: Hospedajes y Restaurantes Conferencia Túcume 

Transportation to and from Chiclayo via Minibus will be organized by the conference.

Contact and Further Questions

• Send conference-related questions for SOMUS to icsomusevents@gmail.com
• Send conference-related questions for COMCOL to secretary.comcol@icom.museum

We look forward to meeting you there!