One of the key strategies of the Museu Marítim de Barcelona is working cooperatively, an approach that enables us to conduct projects with other institutions, with the aim of discovering synergies and optimising resources in order to better safeguard, study and popularise maritime heritage and culture.
By using this principle of collaboration based on knowledge exchange and enrichment, the Museum actively seeks to forge links with other institutions, whether by creating new structures, headed by the Museum, or through its participation in new networks, associations, affiliations and projects.
La Mar de Museus. Network of Catalan-speaking Maritime Museums
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La Mar de Museus. Network of Catalan-speaking Maritime Museums comprises sixteen museums and organisations which operate in the field of maritime heritage and culture management in the different Catalan-speaking coastal territories.
Since La Mar de Museus was established in 1998, its member museums have been interpreting and disseminating different aspects of the maritime world through research, their collections, their exhibitions and related activities.
After so many years of collaborative work led by the Museu Marítim de Barcelona, these museums and heritage organisations have become a reference point for all maritime matters. Each museum leaves its mark in their respective coastal towns and builds with the community the knowledge related to the present, past and future of a maritime legacy that is close to us.
La Mar de Museus represents many unique museums, full of richness and diversity. All museums share a common objective: to safeguard and enhance maritime heritage.
What we do?
We establish synergies between different museums in order to better disseminate our maritime heritage throughout the Catalan-speaking coastal territories.
We help to improve the management of maritime collections.
We promote training activities to improve the skills of museum professionals.
We create dissemination products to raise the local community awareness of the unique heritage of each museum.
We develop actions to share experiences and establish bonds of constant dialogue between museums and maritime professionals who are related to the heritage of the sea.
Association of Mediterranean Maritime Museums (AMMM)
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In 1998, the Maritime Museum of Barcelona initiated the creation of the Association of Mediterranean Maritime Museums (AMMM), an organization with its own legal personality. The AMMM brings together maritime museums, institutions and organizations dedicated to maritime culture that operate in the Mediterranean basin.
The Association, headquartered at the Maritime Museum of Barcelona, is governed by assembly. It works to promote the values of social responsibility, equality, solidarity, cooperation, mobility and participation.
The AMMM holds annual forums on maritime heritage, organized in different countries by member museums to discuss and debate the current status of managing and preserving Mediterranean heritage and culture.
The AMMM works in collaboration with other museums to:
Guarantee the preservation of maritime culture and history, while ensuring that it is interpreted according to professional standards of quality.
Improve professional standards and promote research on maritime and historical heritage.
Ensure the safekeeping of material and immaterial maritime heritage.
Promote cooperation among institutions on research, publications, exhibits, conservation, and social awareness.
Promote legislation that favours the protection of this heritage.
Promote member museums and their activities and programs for preserving maritime culture and heritage.
The AMMM also works to fulfil the objectives of the International Congress of Maritime Museums, the International Congress of Museums (especially the regional museum sector it is a part of), and of UNESCO.
Association of Museums and Centres for Maritime Cultural Heritage of Spain
The Asociación de Museos y Centros de Patrimonio Cultural Marítimo de España (Association of Museums and Centres for Maritime Cultural Heritage of Spain) is an initiative born in 2008 with the goal of bringing together the largest possible number of institutions that work to promote and preserve maritime cultural heritage in Spain. It seeks to protect, preserve, document, investigate, expand and above all promote this heritage in all its facets: archaeology, ethnography, sailing and documentation.
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Network of Historic Shipyards in the Mediterranean
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The Maritime Museum of Barcelona began the initiative of building a European network that could become an international space for analysing and improving the management of historical shipyards in the Mediterranean, promoting cultural uses for these spaces.
Since 2008, the administrators of the shipyards of Seville, Valencia, Barcelona, Chania, Genova, Gouvia, Hvar, Naples, La Valetta, Palermo, Pisa, Toulon, Algiers and Venice have organized gatherings to work together on promoting the study, promotion and conservation of these historic buildings.
International Congress of Maritime Museums
The International Congress of Maritime Museums (ICMM) is an association of museums, organizations and professionals who work to preserve maritime heritage. The Congress promotes international relations, cooperation, respect and comprehension among members. The ICMM, created over seventy years ago, is a member of the International Council of Museums (ICOM).
The ICMM regularly organizes gatherings around the world, creating a solid network of museums and professionals. It works to serve as a point of contact and professional support for museums, offering technical advice on the preservation of vessels, exchange opportunities for museum professionals, and, in general, collaboration on projects to preserve maritime heritage.
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International Council of Museums (ICOM)
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The International Council of Museums works to preserve and promote museums, representing them before the institutions charged with their management both on a national and international level. It analyses and applies the principles, techniques and policies needed to protect, preserve and give value to museums.
The ICOM cooperates with UNESCO, ICONMOS, ICCROM and other international institutions defending the same interests. It also promotes the adoption of international and national recommendations using the findings of national working groups. The Maritime Museum of Barcelona is a member.
European Maritime Heritage
European Maritime Heritage (EMH) is an association that brings together people and institutions from multiple European Union states involved in preserving pieces of our floating maritime heritage, whether they be operational ships or not. The members of the Association are private owners, maritime museums and other organizations interested in this sector.
The association’s main interest is active historical vessels, those that are capable of sailing. The EMH’s actions are always related to activating studies that help to solve general problems affecting historical vessels throughout Europe, and it concentrates its efforts on influencing the legislation put forth by the European Union on this matter.
The Maritime Museum of Barcelona is a point of reference for the EMH in working historical vessels both in Spain and the Mediterranean.
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Mediterranean Maritime History Network
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Mediterranean Maritime History Network
In 2000, a group of historians and investigators on Mediterranean maritime history decided to come together to share knowledge and optimize their efforts. One year later, the Network was created with members from France, Italy, Malta, Greece, Tunisia, Israel and Spain, among others.
The MMHN’s main objective is to serve as a point of reference for exchanging information on research on Mediterranean maritime history, especially from the period going from the 13th to the 20th centuries.
The Maritime Museum of Barcelona joined the Network, becoming a reference for Mediterranean Spain and for Spain in general, with the goal of getting historians from our country just as involved in this project as those from other countries are.
