Apologies for absence:
Bernice Murphy, represented by Elisabet Olofsson
Yani Herreman, represented by Alissandra Cummins

1. Minutes of the 103^rd session, June 2003, Paris (France)
   The minutes were adopted with several amendments to the English version:
   - The name of the Advisory Committee should corrected (" Advisory Board " should read " Advisory Committee ");
   - paragraph 5.6. the name of Patrick Boylan should be corrected.
   
   The Executive Council wishes to have a single, shorter and comprehensive report containing all the decisions taken during the working sessions. The Council would like to receive as soon as possible a summary of all the decisions taken. This summary should be drawn up in English and French.
   
   
2. Finances
   
   Budget 2004 [2003/SEC.06]:
   
   The Executive Council adopted the draft budget for 2004, according to the items below, on condition that a column is added indicating the status of the balance sheet for 2002:
   • Offices: the Executive Council decided that this expenditure should be incorporated as part of the budget and should no longer be considered as an extra-budgetary expenditure.
   • Salaries: the Executive Council decided to make provisions for rises in the cost of living and for salary increases based on merit.
   • Grants for special projects: the Executive council decided to allocate the sum of 50,000 Euros now, in accordance with its decision of June 2003.
     
     
   • MUSEDOMA: Cary Karp should send a review of the action taken by MUSEDOMA as soon as possible, together with proposals for a long-term plan for the continuation of the project. In the meantime, negotiations should be undertaken with the J. Paul Getty Trust.
     Furthermore, the Director of the Museum where Cary Karp works should be contacted to find out whether he would agree to allow Cary Karp to work on the MUSEDOMA project after 2004, covering his salary for a period that still needs to be negotiated.
     In addition, an item on the financial consequences of " .museum " should be added to the agenda of the next meeting of the Executive Council and the next meeting of the Finance Committee.
     
     

   Draft triennial budget 2004-2007 [2003/SEC.06]
   

   • The Executive Council approved the draft triennial budget. This draft will be submitted to the Advisory Committee in the form of a Power Point presentation.

   
   In addition,
   The Secretary General should check by the month of June 2004:
   

   • The conditions for the appointment and tasks of the Auditor.
   • The contract conditions for the Secretary General. This contract must comply with French legislation, and the Statutes of the Organisation would therefore need to be modified accordingly.

    

3. Strategic Plan 2004-2007
   
   The Executive Council would like to set up a Programme Committee before the General Conference in Seoul to work on the elaboration of the Strategic Plan for 2004-2007 and its implementation. In early January 2004, Council members will have to propose to the Secretary General the names of people who could belong to this Committee. Gary Edson will present the draft mandate of the Programme Committee. This Committee will be expected to work in close co-operation with the Secretariat.
   
   Ethics Committee
   The Executive Council took due note of the draft Code presented by Geoffrey Lewis, Chairperson of the Committee. Council members proposed a few amendments. The amended text will be translated into French and Spanish, and circulated to all members of the Executive Council, and then to members of the Advisory Committee. The draft Code will be submitted to the General Assembly in Seoul.
   
   Search for a definition of the word " museum "
   
   • The debate will be extended to ICOM-L in French and Spanish, with a moderator for each of these languages.
   • The Advisory Committee should be involved in the debate through ADCOM-L and/or ICOM News and/or the ICOM Web Site.

    

4. Working Groups
   
   Working Group on the ICOM Statutes
   The text to be presented in June 2004 by Ben Koevoets should include the list of suggestions and/or amendments to the Statutes, proposed by the ICOM Task Force, the Executive Council, and members of the Working Group on the ICOM Statutes. The text should also mention the articles that will be inserted in the Regulations. The text will have to be reread by a legal expert before being sent to the Advisory Committee by post and through ICOM-L. It will have to be translated in the three languages. On ADCOM-L, the text will be accompanied by an explanatory note from Jacques Perot indicating that this new version of the Statutes has been drawn up in compliance with the decisions taken in July 2001 in Barcelona (Spain).
   
   Task Force on National Committees and Regional Organisations
   In June 2004, Gary Edson will present a draft general policy for National Committees. This draft will be proposed to the Advisory Committee and the General Assembly in Seoul in October 2004.
   
   • The Secretariat should obtain as many Statutes of National Committees as possible

   
   Task Force on International Committees and Affiliated Organisations
   

   • Martin Schaerer will present a revised version of his report, taking into account the various suggestions made by Council members.
   • The Secretariat should obtain all the Rules of the International Committees
   • The Secretariat should study the possibility of opening a bank account in France for all International Committees. (e-banking?)

   
   Task Force on the Use of Languages
   Giovanni Pinna will present a report on the work of his Task Force at the beginning of January 2004 at the latest, together with concrete proposals on the use of languages within the organs of ICOM, including its Web Site and discussion forums (ADCOM-L, ICOM-L, etc.)
   
   Finances and Resources Committee and Legal Affairs and Properties Committee
   

   • The Executive Council took due note of the reports presented by these two Committees.
   • A joint meeting between these two Committees and the Ethics Committee should be organised in October 2004 in Seoul (Korea).

   
   Nominations Committee
   

   • The Executive Council accepted the proposal made by Knut Wik and Günther Dembski, responsible for the elections, to modify the present election procedures. The Executive Council has therefore decided to declare the General Conference open on the first day of the session. A voting office will be open to members voting at a fixed period during the Conference.
   • From 2004, ballot papers distributed for Executive Council elections will now be considered valid even if the member does not select the total number of candidates indicated in each section. The purpose of this new procedure is to provide members with the option to exercise their right to vote for candidates if they so choose.

    

5. MUSEUM INTERNATIONAL
   In view of the current financial situation of the Organisation, the Executive Council does not feel it is feasible to follow-up on several proposals by UNESCO. Negotiations will continue in the future with the Editor-in-Chief of this publication.
   
   
6. ICOM Offices
   
   • The President of ICOM will continue negotiations with the City Council of Paris and the Direction des Musées de France (DMF) and submit a report in June 2004.
   • The Executive Council would like ICOM to keep at least one office at UNESCO

    

7. ICOM staff
   The Executive Council entrusted the Secretary General and Elisabet Olofsson with the task of drawing up the specifications for a study on the compatibility between the implementation of the Strategic Plan and the Secretariat's human resources.
   
   
8. General Conference
   
   ICOM 2004:
   Jacques Perot will send a letter to the International Committees that do not plan to meet in Seoul in 2004, in order to encourage them to hold meetings on that occasion. The ICOM 2004 Organising Committee will send a programme of the Conference to members of the Executive Council and the ICOM 2004 Working Group before publishing it.
   
   The Executive Council noted the efforts made by the Organising Committee to forge links with museum professionals in North Korea. The President of ICOM, on his part, will do his utmost to establish contacts with North Koreans.
   
   The Executive Council reiterated that it was important for the Organising Committee to remain in close contact with the Secretariat.
   
   
9. Nomination of Honorary Members
   The Executive Council will debate on this question during its meeting in June 2004. Council members are invited to put forward their suggestions before the beginning of the year 2004.
   
   
10. National and International Committees
    
    10.1. National Committees
    Council was informed that two National Committees that had been under reorganization have recently held elections and paid their annual dues. These are Kenya and Costa Rica.
    
    Council was also informed that several National Committees were in arrears with their membership dues for 2003 and had not communicated with the Secretariat about this matter. These are: Laos DPR, Dem. Rep. of Congo, Viet Nam, Benin, Niger, Mauritania, Central African Republic. All of these Committees enjoy membership subsidies. Council authorized the Secretariat to write to each Committee member informing them of this matter and requesting them to regularize their Committees' situation and to pay their dues directly to the Secretariat.
    
    Council noted the AAM ICOM Committee's report evaluating the anniversary renewal system that had been used by the Committee on a trial basis for the past several years. Council approved that this anniversary system be renewed for an additional three- year period, at the end of which the Committee must submit an evaluation.
    
    Council tabled the report from the German Committee regarding the issuance of additional ICOM cards, experimentally, for the Committee's institutional members in proportion to their number of personnel. Council approved the continuation of this system for another year. The National Committee must submit an evaluation at the end of 2004.
    
    Because of a recent increase in their country's VAT and income tax, the National Committee of Botswana requested Council for an extension of its special membership subsidy for 2004. Council was informed that this Committee counted 6 individual members and that it had enjoyed a special subsidy since 2001. Council approved the extension of the Committee's special subsidy for 2004.
    
    A recent contribution of 1000? was received from the Swiss National Committee for the ICOM Fund. With this contribution, the Fund showed a balance of 3889,14? as at 31st October 2003.
    
    At the request of the Swiss National Committee, Council approved the allocation of 672? for the 2003 annual dues of 28 individual members in Mali.
    
    Council also approved the on-going assistance (up to 2005) for the members of the Afghan National Committee. For 2004 the Fund will allocate 300? for the 12 members of the Committee.
    
    From 2004, ICOM's committees will be grouped into six (6) regional groups: Asia and the Pacific, Africa, Arab States, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America. This new classification takes into consideration the execution of the Organization's regional activities.
    
    10.2. International Committees
    Council approved document EZ/TC/03/361 that lists the regular subvention that each International Committee would receive for 2004. International Committees would receive 6.80? for each active member (at December 2003)
    
    Council approved the application of the International Association of History Museums (IAMH) as an affiliated association of the Organization.
    
    
11. International Museums Day 2005
    
    The Executive Council has chosen the following theme:
    French version: " Les Musées, ponts entre les cultures "
    English version : " Museums bridging cultures "
    Spanish version: " Los Museos puentes entra las culturas "
    
    
12. Miscellaneous
    
    
    • Amareswar Galla, Chairperson of the Cross-cultural Working Group announced that this group is not functioning. The Council requested Amareswar Galla to submit a report detailing the problems and achievements of the Committee, as well as his new proposals for restructuring, by June 2004.
      
      
    • Elisabet Olofsson presented the AFRICOM report on their General Conference held in Nairobi in September/October 2003. Members of the Council requested the Secretary General to write a letter to the AFRICOM Board to ask them to consider their status with respect to ICOM and take a decision soon, preferably at its next Board meeting.

     

13. Forthcoming meetings of the Executive Council
    
    Extraordinary session: 2 to 4 June 2004, Paris (France)
    105^th session: 2 October 2004, Seoul (Korea)
    The new Executive Council elected during the General Conference will meet briefly on the occasion of a lunch in Seoul (Korea).
    It will hold its 106^th session from 1^st to 3^rd December 2004 in Paris (on condition that members accept the proposed date).