Museum professionals, cultural practitioners, and scholars from around the Pacific Rim gathered for a joint meeting presented by the Western Museums Association and the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums from Sept. 23-26, 2011.

Museum professionals, cultural practitioners and scholars from around the Pacific Rim and North America gathered at the Hawai`i Convention Center for a joint meeting presented by the Western Museums Association (WMA) and the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM) from Sept. 23-26, 2011.

The meeting covered topics including the illegal trafficking of cultural artifacts; collection care; and the use of technology and social media to preserve indigenous cultures.

Turnout for the meeting, co-hosted by the Hawai`i Museums Association (HMA) and the Pacific Islands Museum Association (PIMA), was nearly 600 participants.  That translates into $2.6 million in state revenue, with the Hawai`i Convention Center’s hotel partners benefiting from more than 4,400 room nights.  The meeting was last held in Honolulu in 1994.

The meeting, with the theme “Pupukahi i Holomua,” or “Working Together to Move Forward,” is unprecedented in the four associations collaborating to provide such a rich and diverse program.

In addition, attendees had the opportunity to experience some of Honolulu’s cultural gems, with tours of Doris Duke’s Shangri La; the Waikiki Aquarium; Pearl Harbor; Mission Houses Museum; and the Manoa Heritage Center.

Kippen de Alba Chu, vice president of the Hawai`i Museums Association and executive director of Iolani Palace, provides more detail on the meeting in an interview with Howard Dicus of Hawai`i News Now Sunrise on Friday, Sept. 23, 2011.