Outline of new museum ethics in theoretical and practical museology

Currently, museology experts are involved with an intensive discussion aimed at the revision of the principles of museum ethics. To a significant extent, this discussion is related to the revision of the Museums’ Code of Ethics, which is moderated by the ICOM Standing Committee on Ethics. The suggestion could be made that the declared criteria and methods of working on the provisions of the Code of Ethics are associated with the new Museum definition introduced to ICOM statute in 2022. The ethical components of the new Museum definition are related to the changing values and key issues of modern culture. Attempts to revise museum ethics are also defined by the change in the current mission of a museum. The issue under discussion is the relationship between professional and institutional museum ethics. Substitution of the classical ethical paradigm of the museum with the concept of new museum ethics became an essential factor. The connection between the concept of the new museum ethics and museum activism is obvious. Criteria for radical transparency of museum collections and social responsibility to communities are becoming increasingly influential in practical and theoretical museology.