What is the new vision for international cooperation in museums?

By Ding Si 

(CNS)– The museum is often regarded as a “three-dimensional encyclopedia” and serves as an important window for cultural exchange and mutual learning between civilizations. As a key component of public diplomacy, cooperation in the museum sector can open up effective paths for enhancing mutual respect and understanding among different countries, ethnicities, and cultures. 

Today, what roles have museums played in promoting international understanding and building bridges for cultural exchange? Facing the opportunities and challenges posed by artificial intelligence, how can museums use digital technologies to empower the protection of cultural heritage? What exactly is the new vision for international cooperation in museums, and what direction should it take in the future? Suppawan Nongnut, a curator of the National Museum  Bangkok, recently shared her opinions during an exclusive interview with China News Service’s “W.E. Talk” in Dunhuang.

Here are excerpts from the interview: 

CNS：What do you think is the social role of museums, and what responsibilities do they bear?

Suppawan Nongnut：Museums are not merely buildings filled with artefacts. They are bridges—living spaces where the wisdom of the past meets the questions of the present, and inspires visions for the future. For example, the National Museum Bangkok, one of the oldest museums in Southeast Asia, is nestled in the heart of Thailand’s capital. This institution has long served as a gateway to understanding the ancient kingdoms of the region—Ayutthaya, Sukhothai, Lanna—and their interconnections with cultures from India, China, Europe, and beyond. Then, more than preserving Thai heritage, the National Museum Bangkok has become a hub for international cooperation.

It’s clear that museums are more and more important for local education and social functions. For local Thais, museums have become “second classrooms”. During the Songkran Festival, Thailand’s traditional New Year, we hold fun and engaging activities at the museum for free, sparking people’s curiosity and encouraging them to explore Thailand’s past, present, and future. For children, we organize special staff teams to guide them through exhibits, show them pictures, tell stories, rather than simply give lectures.

Moreover, visiting museums has become a lifestyle for Thais. Museums have become “our shared museums”, much like public spaces where people come to stroll, chat, date, and visit. Retired elderly people, in particular, often visit the museum daily to walk around, observe, and exchange ideas.

Secondly, museums’ roles in international exchanges are becoming more significant. As bridges for cultural exchange, we must consider how to take museums to the world, how to engage in dialogue with the world, and how to make Thai culture known globally. To this end, we have set up volunteer positions at our museum, where volunteers actively share Thai history and culture with foreign visitors, promoting mutual understanding. On the other hand, we are also “reaching out”. 

CNS：In recent years, what international exchange and cooperation has the National Museum in Bangkok undertaken regarding “bringing in” and “going out”?

Suppawan Nongnut: In recent years, it has hosted joint exhibitions with institutions in China, France, Japan and so on, introducing the movement of people in ancient times from the local contact to the outsiders like maritime and mainland trades, through artefacts that reveal centuries of cultural exchange. These collaborative projects are not just about objects—they are about relationships, built on mutual respect and shared narratives.

For “bringing in”, we have held several exhibitions in Bangkok. For example, we featured “The History of Japanese Art: Life and Faith” in February 2018；“Qin Shi Huang: The First Emperor of China and the Terracotta Warriors” from September 16 to December 15, 2019；“Featuring Buddhist Imagery from Bharata to Suvarnabhumi” from December 23, 2018, to March 23, 2019；and “The Endless Epic of Japanese-Thai Ceramic Relationship in the World’s Trade and Culture” from September 14 to December 14, 2022.

For “going out”, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Thailand and China this year, we plan to collaborate with the Palace Museum in Beijing. We will carefully select 150 pieces of Thai art to showcase in Beijing, to tell the stories of the Thai people and their cultural exchanges with China. 

Suppawan Nongnut, curator of the National Museum Bangkok, introduces the Terracotta Warriors to visitors exhibited at the museum in September 2019. (File photo / provided to Ecns.cn)

CNS：With the arrival of the digital age, where do you see the future of international museum cooperation going?

Suppawan Nongnut: First of all, we must embrace digital diplomacy. Virtual exhibitions and shared databases can allow a student in Nairobi to explore Thai sculpture, or a curator in Rome to study Indonesian batik. Let us build a digital Silk Road—linking our collections in a global network of knowledge and access.

Secondly, we must invest in youth and education. Exchange programs for young curators, collaborative research initiatives, and intercultural fellowships can plant the seeds of long-term understanding. Imagine if every major museum had a young curatorial ambassador from another part of the world—how rich our perspectives would become.

Thirdly, we must speak with one voice in global forums. Museums must advocate for peace, for intercultural respect, and for the protection of heritage under threat from war, climate change, and neglect. One more thing, we need to support communities in terms of global knowledge development, income generation, and sustainable coexistence. 

Suppawan Nongnut (C), director of the National Museum Bangkok in Thailand, participates in a dialogue on Cultural Exchange and Mutual Learning held in Dunhuang, Gansu Province, on May 30, 2025. (Photo / provided to Ecns.cn) 

CNS：Museums are not only bridges for cultural exchange but also guardians of humanity’s priceless cultural heritage. How can we work together to protect this precious heritage?

Suppawan Nongnut: I am not only as a representative of the museum community in Thailand but also as a fellow custodian of human heritage—heritage that transcends borders, languages, and time itself. Nowadays, our institutions have a unique opportunity and responsibility to stand as symbols of unity, dialogue, and hope.

Museums carry the shared heritage of humanity, and it is our collective responsibility to protect it. Many of our collections tell stories from different continents. A single statue, manuscript, or piece of pottery can represent the convergence of trade, beliefs, and craftsmanship from multiple civilizations. This interconnectedness reminds us: cultural heritage is not the property of one nation—it is a legacy we all share.

As such, international cooperation must extend beyond loans and exhibitions. It must include ethical responsibilities: transparency in provenance, commitment to repatriation when appropriate, and support for capacity-building in regions where heritage is at risk.

In Bangkok, again, we see this principle in action. The museum has partnered with regional neighbors—Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia and Myanmar—in conservation training programs. These initiatives are not about one museum helping another, but about all of us helping each other to preserve a shared cultural ecosystem.

In the spirit of the National Museum Bangkok—where Thai history meets the world, and the world meets Thai culture—let us all become agents of a new kind of diplomacy. One not written in treaties, but carved in stone, painted on canvas, and told through generations.

Together, we can build a true community of civilizations—a community where museums are not passive storehouses of the past, but active beacons of our shared humanity.

Let us imagine a future where no child sees another culture as foreign. Let us build museums that speak not in isolation, but in harmony. Let the past connect us, the present calls us and the future await—our united vision, our collective courage, and our enduring cooperation. 

Suppawan Nongnut is the curator of the National Museum Bangkok (2007 to present). She graduated from the Silpakorn University (2000) and SOAS, the University of London (2015). She is interested in ancient weapons, Sino-Thai arts, ancient technology, and iconography. She is currently conducting research and development to extend her academic work into educational services, using art toys as a bridge between the museum and the public.