In a webinar hosted by the Mitra Museum Jakarta Foundation,  Indonesian curator Annissa M. Gultom, who is director of museums at the Department of Antiquities and Museums of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, said the government had been slow in reopening parts of the nation, with tourism slated to return in September or October.

“Until August, while the museums remain closed, this is a prime opportunity for us to learn. The ‘new normal’, which we don’t know what it will entail yet, will force us to radically change how we work and how we measure our effectiveness,” she said.

For example, these changes can come in the shape of revamped programs. Annissa explained that the education unit in her institution has been made vital, with real-time programs and all-new agendas on learning through a digital environment.

“One of the most difficult units initially was the customer happiness unit, which covers frontline staff such as guides. We allocated a large amount of time to plan how they can use their time to work remotely to prepare. The collection and conservation unit has also completed training on digitization.

“The silver lining is that everyone is forced to learn. It was confusing at first, but we along with the human resources department compiled a list of courses that our staff can take,” she said.

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