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We are an International Museum Network
We facilitate professional development opportunities for all levels of museum staff to develop technical skills and post colonial museum practices throughout the Commonwealth.

Our History
CAM is an accredited Commonwealth Organization established at an ICOM meeting in Denmark in 1974. Although no longer funded by the Commonwealth, CAM continues to support the role of culture in development and promote Commonwealth values: democracy; human rights; international peace and security; tolerance, respect and understanding; freedom of expression; separation of powers; rule of law; good governance; sustainable development; protecting the environment; access to health, education, food and shelter; gender equality; importance of young people in the Commonwealth; recognition of the needs of small states; recognition of the needs of vulnerable states; and the role of civil society. From the beginning, CAM’s membership included individuals and institutions throughout the Commonwealth as well as in non-Commonwealth nations that share similar values.

The relationship between CAM, as an Affiliated Organisation (AO), and ICOM has also evolved. Since 1992, CAM’s events have been held apart from ICOM’s in order to reach more members in developing nations, however, CAM continues to collaborate with ICOM where appropriate. CAM moved from London, United Kingdom to Calgary, Canada in 1985 and initiated the Distance Learning Program in Basic Museum Studies which has proven beneficial to museum workers in communities with little access to professional development locally. In 1997, with the support of the Canadian government, CAM introduced the International Internship Program, sending Canadian graduates to work in institutions in Africa, the Caribbean, the South Pacific, India, and the UK.