Charter Learning Museum
At the heart of our work lies a deep sense of responsibility - to people, to culture, and to the living world we share. We see museums as bridges between generations, linking the past that shaped us, the present we inhabit, and the future we are creating together. We aim to remain relevant and responsive, places where dialogue, discovery, and shared learning continuously evolve. To do so a key set of values are at the center of our way of working and our actions:
Curiosity - We stay open to questions, embracing discovery as the spark of learning.
Courage - We dare to experiment, challenge norms, and face the unknown with integrity.
Reflection - We take time to pause, assess, and grow from what we learn.
Inclusion - We ensure all voices - staff, communities, and visitors - have a place in our story.
Collaboration - We learn with and from others, knowing that shared knowledge multiplies impact.
Experimentation - We test, adapt, and improve, seeing each step as part of an ongoing process.
Humility - We acknowledge we do not have all the answers and remain open to learning from anyone.
Commitment - We dedicate time, energy, and heart to making transformation real.
Levers for Change towards a Learning Museum
We honor that our museum has certain strengths that we want to build on further and certain areas of growth. With this pledge we commit to creating an action plan to make concrete changes towards a learning museum and will free the necessary resources. Changes might involve the following areas but will be further outlined in our museum action plan:
- Be guided by strategy and impact: Ground decisions in evidence and insight, using data and reflection as ongoing tools for direction and improvement.
- Embed learning in daily work: Allocate dedicated time, space, and resources for reflection and learning as part of core operations.
- Normalise innovation and experimentation: Treat trial and error as essential to progress - using prototypes, testing, and iteration to improve ideas and actions.
- Review governance structures: Review how decisions are made to ensure transparency, accountability, and long-term adaptability.
- Foster cross-organisational collaboration: Build strong relationships within, between and beyond museums for new inputs, unlikely ideas, co-creation to jointly realise goals.
- Consider agile methods: Where possible work in short, focused cycles with clear goals, engaging stakeholders throughout to adapt quickly to new insights.
- Use technology purposefully: Apply digital tools and emerging technologies where possible - including AI - to enhance accessibility, creativity, and operational efficiency.
- Strengthen feedback systems: Create safe and open channels for giving and receiving feedback, recognising both achievements and lessons learned.
- Establish reflection rituals: Hold regular sessions to review progress, adjust direction, assess external trends and realign teams around shared goals.
- Invest in peer learning: Participate in networks and exchanges that build collective capacity, exchange knowledge and resources across the Swiss museum community.
Our Shared Aspiration
This Charter marks the beginning of an ongoing journey — one of learning, collaboration, and renewal. Together, as a community of museums in Switzerland, we commit to shaping a future where our institutions are not only guardians of the past but living laboratories for change. Through consistent action and collective courage, we will turn learning into impact — for our teams, the public, the natural world.
