ICMM Congress 2026 underway in Sydney, bringing the global maritime museum community together
More than 120 maritime museum professionals from over 30 countries and territories have gathered in Sydney, Australia, for the 22nd International Congress of Maritime Museums (ICMM) Biennial Congress.
Taking place from 13–18 September 2026 and hosted by the Australian National Maritime Museum, this year’s Congress marks an important milestone for ICMM as the first full Biennial Congress to be held in Australia.
Under the theme Maritime Museums in Action – Moving Forward with Courage and Conviction, the six-day programme is bringing together maritime museum leaders, professionals and heritage practitioners to share knowledge, debate some of the most pressing issues facing museums today and strengthen connections across the international maritime heritage community.
Delegates have travelled to Sydney from across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America, the Caribbean, and Oceania, demonstrating the truly international reach of ICMM. The largest contingents have travelled from Australia and the wider Oceania region, alongside strong representation from Europe and Asia.
From Uganda to South Korea, Iceland to Indonesia, Chile to New Zealand, the Congress provides a rare opportunity for colleagues working across very different cultural, geographic and organisational contexts to learn from one another.
Four themes for maritime museums in action
Four keynote themes provide the framework for the Congress programme: Courageous Leadership, Tomorrow’s Museums, Community Engagement, and Inclusion & Belonging.
The keynote programme opened on Monday with Dr Kim Sajet, Donna and Donald Baumgartner Director of the Milwaukee Art Museum and former Director of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.
In Courageous Leadership: Museums in an Age of Culture Wars, Dr Sajet explored the increasingly complex expectations placed on museum leaders and the importance of courage when navigating questions of institutional mission, values and public responsibility. Drawing on her experience in the United States, she considered how leaders can act with conviction while protecting institutional integrity and the historical record.
On Tuesday, the focus moved to Tomorrow’s Museums, with Seb Chan, Director & CEO of ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image), delivering the keynote Complicated, difficult, essential.
Drawing on two decades as a museum technologist and his experience leading ACMI, Chan examined museums’ often complicated relationship with technology and the challenge of turning technological promise into meaningful value. His keynote also considered the latest period of uncertainty, risk and opportunity created by generative AI and other emerging technologies.
Later in the week, Mereoni Camailakeba, Manager of Archaeology Services at the Fiji Museum, will lead the Congress exploration of Community Engagement.
Her keynote will examine community engagement through the lens of underwater archaeology in Fiji, connecting shipwrecks, sacred maritime landscapes and traditional seafaring knowledge with contemporary identity. It will also explore community empowerment, capacity building and the importance of locally grounded approaches to maritime heritage.
The final keynote will be delivered by the Hon Hieu Van Le AC, Chair of the Council of the Australian National Maritime Museum and former Governor of South Australia.
In A Personal Journey, Mr Le will explore Inclusion & Belonging through his own remarkable story: from arriving in Australia as a refugee from Vietnam by boat in 1977 to becoming Governor of South Australia and dedicating decades to public service and community leadership.
From discussion to action
The keynote themes are being explored in greater depth throughout the week through international panels and plenary discussions featuring museum leaders from around the world.
A major emphasis of Congress 2026 is also on moving from ideas to practical action.
The programme’s Museums and Action: Common Problems, Outstanding Solutions sessions give participants the opportunity to share real-world projects, challenges and solutions, while a wide-ranging workshop programme is encouraging delegates to work together on some of the most important questions facing maritime museums.
Topics range from historic ship preservation, 3D digitisation and maritime archaeology to digital audiences, sustainability, ocean science, international collaboration and Pacific maritime museum development.
Other sessions explore how museums interpret maritime refugee histories, engage communities, advocate for smaller institutions and respond to the changing technological, environmental and social landscape in which museums operate.
Together, these sessions reflect one of the central aims of the ICMM Congress – to gather and share knowledge, new insights and maritime stories while giving colleagues the opportunity to see how museums in different parts of the world approach common challenges.
Sydney Harbour becomes part of the Congress
The programme also takes delegates beyond the conference room and into Sydney’s remarkable maritime landscape.
Monday concluded with a reception and twilight sail on Sydney Harbour aboard the historic James Craig, the restored 1874 iron-hulled barque operated by Sydney Heritage Fleet.
Tuesday evening sees delegates visit the Australian Museum for a tour and reception, while Wednesday is devoted to a Historic Site Field Study Day, giving participants an opportunity to explore Sydney’s maritime and cultural heritage first-hand.
The Congress continues with further sessions on Thursday and Friday before concluding with the ICMM General Meeting, Congress reflections and a Gala Dinner.
Strengthening an international community
Alongside the formal programme, Congress is providing something equally important – time for colleagues to meet face-to-face, renew longstanding relationships and establish new ones.
ICMM has brought maritime museums together internationally since its origins in 1972 and today has more than 240 members worldwide, encompassing maritime museums as well as organisations and individuals working across the wider maritime heritage sector.
The 2026 Congress in Sydney reflects that international character, while providing a particularly valuable opportunity to strengthen relationships with maritime museums and heritage organisations across Australia, Asia and the Pacific.
As Congress host, Australian National Maritime Museum Director & CEO Daryl Karp AM noted ahead of the event, museums are operating against a backdrop of profound change, from climate change and rising sea levels to declining public trust, increasing costs, global instability and artificial intelligence. Congress 2026 provides an opportunity for the sector to consider those challenges collectively and help shape the maritime museum of the future.
With several days of the programme still to come, ICMM Congress 2026 is already demonstrating the value of bringing the international maritime museum community together: sharing expertise, challenging assumptions, building partnerships and moving forward with courage and conviction.