“The ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums addresses diverse museum-related topics such as acquisition procedures, compliance with legislation, management of resources, security, returns and restitutions. The Code also advocates strong principles playing a key role in the fight against illicit traffic, for instance concerning due diligence and provenance.” – ICOM Code of Ethics
One of the main points that keep reoccurring to me in this course is “what belongs to a museum”. In my search of what makes museums ethical I came across a Ted talk by Chip Colwell who is an archeologist and a museum curator that uses the system of “collecting and returning” for his museums as a way to “fix” the dark past of museums.