On August 20–21, 2026, around 250 museum professionals from Switzerland and Liechtenstein gathered in Vaduz for the Annual Congress of Swiss Museums, hosted by VMS and ICOM Switzerland. Under the motto “The Learning Museum: Shaping the Future Together. Reflecting. Learning. Making an Impact,” the two-day congress centered on a single question: How can museums evolve as learning organizations—responsive to their audiences, their staff, and society as a whole?
For the Digital Museum of Learning, the theme of the learning museum could hardly have been more relevant.
To save a museum is to keep the dialogue alive
The congress opened with “How to Save a Museum—and Why It Matters,” a talk by Pascal Hufschmid, who has directed thed International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum in Geneva since 2019.
We were struck by the open, collaborative tone Hufschmid set for the congress as a whole. Drawing on his own experience, he made a compelling case that “saving” a museum is not primarily about securing funding or boosting visitor numbers. Rather, it means keeping alive the connections between the institution, the professional community, and society. For a museum devoted to humanitarian history, the relationship between relevance and an ongoing capacity for dialogue is particularly tangible.
Inclusion means actually changing perspective
In “Experience: Accessibility and Inclusion On-Site—A Change of Perspective,” Sara Stocker Steinke, a pioneer in advancing inclusion in the cultural sector, led participants through a hands-on exploration of accessibility.
Rather than approaching inclusion as a checklist—ramp: yes; audio guide: yes; and so on—participants were invited to experience the kinds of barriers people encounter in everyday life. The exercise made those barriers tangible, revealing where and how they arise. While the session focused primarily on the physical spaces of exhibitions, it prompted us at the Digital Museum of Learning to consider what accessibility means in a digital environment as well—a question that is particularly important as we plan our next exhibition.
Learning collaboratively, starting in early childhood
What happens when an art exhibition becomes a playground for children ages 0 to 4?
In the keynote “What We Learn from ‘kollabor,’” Susanne Kudorfer, Head of Art Education at the Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein since 2020, presented “kollabor,” an art and experiential space in Vaduz. Visible from outside, the naturally lit hall invites curiosity and creates a public space where children can encounter art directly and engage with it through all their senses.
The works range from Dan Peterman’s Civilian Defense Vaduz (2023)—an installation of 1,000 sand-filled fabric bags that form a walk-in space for shelter and encounter—to Mercedes Azpilicueta’s CaccHho CucchhA, an installation designed for free play. Every work on display invites young children to explore with their hands and feet, turning the experience of art into something physical and multisensory.
We found the idea of museums learning from playgrounds particularly compelling: art doesn’t have to be something we simply look at. It can be explored through play and physical experience, without relying on language.
Friction as a learning moment — museums in dialogue with communities
The panel discussion and subsequent breakout sessions explored what happens when museums open themselves up to dialogue with their communities. We were particularly struck by a statement from Yasmin Naderi, Co-Director of the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst: the museum works not for its audience but with it. This shifts the focus away from the finished artwork alone and toward the collaborative process behind it.
One initiative supporting this kind of collaboration between the public and artists is "New Patrons"(Neue Auftraggeber:innen Schweiz), an association that enables groups of citizens to commission contemporary art projects for their own communities, often in response to social challenges.
The session left us with plenty of ideas and inspiration for participatory projects of our own. But it also underscored one of their greatest challenges: time. Meaningful participation requires time to build trust, exchange ideas, and allow something to develop together.
Reflecting on exhibitions: from project charter to review—learning at the Swiss National Museum
Dr. Luca Tori, Deputy Chief Curator and Head of Curatorial Department 1, and Christina Tschopp, Head of Corporate Development & Innovation, offered a look at how the Swiss National Museum curates, evaluates, and continually develops its exhibitions in the spirit of a learning museum.
To support this work, the museum has incorporated selected elements of Scrum into its processes. These include regular “retros”—short, internally focused reviews in which teams deliberately look back on a project and identify insights to carry into the next phase. One reflection exercise they use is “I like, I wish, I wonder,” a format that helps teams recognize successes, identify areas for improvement, and open up new perspectives.
We were particularly taken with the Swiss National Museum’s pragmatism. Rather than overhauling its established processes, the team selectively draws on tools and methods from Scrum and Design Thinking wherever they offer concrete value. One phrase we heard repeatedly throughout the congress captures this spirit well: “It doesn’t have to be perfect. The main thing is to get started.”
A learning museum needs the courage to experiment—but experimentation alone isn’t enough. What matters is reflecting on the results and systematically putting what you learn into practice.
60 years of VMS and a look ahead to 2046
To close the congress, Carine Bachmann, Director of the Federal Office of Culture turned her attention to the future of museums and posed a fundamental question: What do we show, for whom, with whom, and why?
For those gathered at the congress, the museum of 2046 was shaped by values such as participation, inclusion, openness, social relevance, encounter, and free access. Museums will continue to collect, preserve, research, contextualize, and communicate. At the same time, they will need to continually reinterpret cultural heritage and consider what it means in the present.
The discussion also highlighted the importance of cultural sovereignty. Switzerland must continue to ask what it considers worth protecting while ensuring that the cultural richness of all its regions remains part of the conversation.
In her closing remarks, Gesa Schneider of Museum Allerheiligen expressed the hope that museums might become more permeable, evolving from fortresses into places of curiosity. This means opening up to the public and creating space to explore and critically discuss socially relevant issues together. Museums, after all, are more than archives of the past. They are also places where questions can be asked before the answers have been settled.
At a time of disinformation, censorship, war, and economic uncertainty, museums have an important role to play in fostering critical thinking and social cohesion.
What we’re taking away
Two days, many experiences, and one common thread: museums learn best when they take dialogue seriously—with their audiences, with communities, and with one another.
For the Digital Museum of Learning, the Learning Museum "Charta" offers an exciting new point of connection. We share the initiative’s values and vision and are considering becoming part of its network.
In a sense, we’re a museum that has grown wings. The Johann Jacobs Museum gives us a physical home, but most of our encounters and activities take place online. Since launching in 2022, we’ve experimented, evaluated, changed course, and repeatedly questioned our own assumptions.
What does it mean to be a digital museum? What stories resonate with children across cultural boundaries? And what does participation mean when a museum community spans the globe?
These are some of the questions that continue to shape our work. They are also why we look forward to experimenting, growing, and learning alongside other museums. After all, being a museum of learning means remaining open to learning ourselves.
