This is the text of my speech that I delivered at the Ignite Smithsonian Conference, April 11, 2011 at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. Click this link for the USTREAM Video (http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/13933930/highlight/166074#utm_campaign=smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com&utm_source=166074&utm_medium=social). Ignite Smithsonian: (http://smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com/Ignite+Smithsonian)

1. Disclaimer:The remarks herein are the personal views of Neal Stimler and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

2. 1 Title: Renewing American Democracy Through Museums & Digital Culture

3. 2 We must improve the human condition by democratizing the museum experience.

4. 3 Museum practice requires urgent paradigm change if citizens are to have hope for the future.

5. 4 It is the responsibility of museums, as stewards of memory, to inspire citizens to think critically.

6. 5 Achieving a more just America through museums demands that individuals make sacrifices for others’ benefit.

7. 6 Museums have a duty to be the center for democratic debate as they foster community engagement.

8. 7 Museums offer citizens infinite opportunities to learn from our nation’s past failures through interaction with collections and scholarship.

9. 8 Museums show us that a better and compassionate future is possible when museums act as agents for social change.

10. 9 The means for change are to be found in the dialogue occurring between museums & their constituents through digital technology.

11. 10 Many people’s primary museum experiences today are cyber interactions through mobile devices.

12. 11 It is critical that museums have their collections databases online and that they crowdsource research.

13. 12 Curators, educators and librarians should be in daily contact with the public through social media channels.

14. 13 The museums’ content must be free, linked and shareable.

15. 14 Users need meaningful opportunities to contribute content from their own experiences to the museum’s official streams.

16. 15 We are living in a digital culture where people are mixing, mashing and creating instantly with technological palettes.

17. 16 Our current copyright practices are barriers to the fluidity of dissemination and creation enabled by new media tools.

18. 17 We must differentiate between what is legal with regards to copyright and what is ethical and in the best interest of the public good.

19. 18 The museum is a commons –a place where peace and virtue flourish as resources are shared without restriction for the good of all constituents.

20. 19 Museum workers are empowered through digital technology to interact with the public in a civic discourse that vitally reshapes the future of the republic.

21. 20 It is time now for museums to take bold and courageous risks to renew American democracy!

22. 21 Thank you!Neal Stimler@nealstimlerneal.stimler@gmail.com