As the world prepares to mark International Museum Day on May 18, Egypt’s museum leaders are embracing the occasion to highlight culture’s power to foster unity at a time of deepening global divisions.
Osama Abdel Wareth, president of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) Egypt, believes museums are no longer just guardians of the past.
They are, he said, becoming active platforms for dialogue and understanding.
“This year’s theme, ‘Museums Uniting a Divided World’, reminds us that museums can help societies reconnect when narratives feel fractured and inequalities are rising,” he told The Egyptian Gazette in an interview.
Launched in 1977, the International Museum Day is coordinated annually by ICOM to spotlight pressing issues facing the museum community.
This year, Egypt is well-positioned to contribute meaningfully to the conversation.
Egyptian museums, Abdel Wareth noted, have a unique advantage.
Exhibitions that emphasize ancient Egypt’s historical connections with Africa, Asia, and Europe, he said, present pharaonic civilisation as a vibrant crossroads of cultures rather than an isolated empire.
“This approach naturally lends itself to broader discussions about shared heritage and cross-cultural exchange,” he added.
Community engagement is also gaining momentum.
The National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation (NMEC) in Fustat recently received recognition for its Tabliet Masr project, which works to preserve intangible cultural heritage while strengthening ties with local residents.
Heritage is increasingly being framed as a tool for peace.
Scholars at Al-Azhar, including former grand muftis, have emphasized that antiquities represent a shared human legacy that must be protected.
Their stance reinforces the Islamic principle of amana, a moral duty to safeguard cultural treasures, while firmly rejecting extremist ideologies that would threaten them.
The latest opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) near the Giza Pyramids in November 2025 is generating significant international excitement.
According to Abdel Wareth, the GEM represents a new chapter in cultural diplomacy.
By presenting artefacts in their authentic context and reuniting Tutankhamun’s treasures together for the first time, the museum allows Egypt to tell its own story, moving beyond colonial-era interpretations.
Other initiatives are expanding this dialogue. The “All Eyes on Her!” exhibition at London’s Horniman Museum, developed in collaboration with Egyptian women, uses everyday objects like 1980s hijab pins to explore themes of female resistance and universal struggles, challenging stereotypes in the process.
Fatwas from Al-Azhar and Dar al-Ifta supporting the protection of ancient monuments have helped bridge ancient Egyptian and Islamic identities, reinforcing heritage preservation as both a cultural and religious value.
Technology is also playing a transformative role in making these stories more accessible.
A partnership with Meta enables visitors to scan artefacts via Instagram and bring them to life through augmented reality.
At the GEM, children can explore Tutankhamun’s tomb through immersive VR experiences, while the locally developed AI app “Manetho” instantly translates hieroglyphs through a smartphone camera.
Egypt is also preparing for “metaverse tourism”, which will allow global audiences to participate in virtual events at historic sites like the Luxor temples.
Despite this progress, challenges remain.
Abdel Wareth, who also founded the Nubia Museum in Aswan, points to climate change as a serious threat to delicate materials like papyrus.
Energy costs for climate control systems further strain budgets.
ICOM Egypt is collaborating with UNESCO and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities on workshops addressing crisis response and the responsible use of artificial intelligence.
There is also growing momentum behind calls for the repatriation of iconic artefacts, such as the Rosetta Stone and the Nefertiti Bust.
“Egypt’s push to repatriate its antiquities is not only a legal matter, but a diplomatic statement rooted in fairness and equality,” Abdel Wareth said.
As the International Museum Day falls, Egyptian museums evolve from traditional repositories of history into dynamic spaces for learning, dialogue, and peace-building, he added.
“Cultural diversity is a unifying human treasure, not a source of division,” Abdel Wareth concluded.
