1. • The inhabitants of the towns are the only owners of their culture. They have the right to interpret it and legitimize it.

2. • The meaning of culture and its values ​​can be defined only by human intuition and interpretation based on knowledge. Cultural competence must be enriched.

3. • Participation is essential for ecomuseums. Culture is a common and democratic good and must be managed democratically.

4. • In case of conflicts between tourism and cultural conservation, it is the latter that receives priority. Authentic heritage should not be put up for sale, although the production of quality goods based on traditional activities should be encouraged.

5. • Integrated and long-term planning is of utmost importance. It is necessary to escape from short-term economic benefits that can destroy culture.

6. • The protection of cultural heritage must be integrated into a complete environmental approach. Traditional materials and techniques play a fundamental role in achieving this purpose.

7. • Visitors have a moral obligation to maintain respectful behavior. They must follow a code of conduct.

8. • Ecomuseums do not have any type of “bible”. At all times they will be different from each other, based on cultural characteristics and the local social situation.

9. • Social development is a requirement for the creation of ecomuseums in vital communities. The well-being of citizens must be improved in a way that does not compromise traditional values.

The ICOM Natural History Committee has developed its own definition of an ecomuseum.

However, contemporary museums are increasingly “museums of ideas” rather than “museums of objects,” a fact that makes it more difficult to precisely define fields of interest. Therefore, asking what the ecomuseum does (and why) is more productive than asking what it is. This requires “horizontal” (comparison of many ecomuseums) and “vertical” (knowledge of local processes) knowledge. For the first, the most complete source in this field is the Osservatorio Ecomusei Internet site (in Italian and English). There are more or less 300 ecomuseums in the world; About 200 are in Europe, and there each one has its information sheet.

For the second there is only research on the ground.

It is also worth commenting on the interesting contribution of the Chinese school. Su Donghai has synthesized in the nine principles of Liuzhi the intense work carried out together with Chinese and Norwegian museologists (among them, the late John Aage Gjestrum) since the beginning of the 1990s.

1. • The inhabitants of the towns are the only owners of their culture. They have the right to interpret it and legitimize it.

2. • The meaning of culture and its values ​​can be defined only by human intuition and interpretation based on knowledge. Cultural competence must be enriched.

3. • Participation is essential for ecomuseums. Culture is a common and democratic good and must be managed democratically.

4. • In case of conflicts between tourism and cultural conservation, it is the latter that receives priority. Authentic heritage should not be put up for sale, although the production of quality goods based on traditional activities should be encouraged.

5. • Integrated and long-term planning is of utmost importance. It is necessary to escape from short-term economic benefits that can destroy culture.

6. • The protection of cultural heritage must be integrated into a complete environmental approach. Traditional materials and techniques play a fundamental role in achieving this purpose.

7. • Visitors have a moral obligation to maintain respectful behavior. They must follow a code of conduct.

8. • Ecomuseums do not have any type of “bible”. At all times they will be different from each other, based on cultural characteristics and the local social situation.

9. • Social development is a requirement for the creation of ecomuseums in vital communities. The well-being of citizens must be improved in a way that does not compromise traditional values.

The ICOM Natural History Committee has developed its own definition of an ecomuseum.

However, contemporary museums are increasingly “museums of ideas” rather than “museums of objects,” a fact that makes it more difficult to precisely define fields of interest. Therefore, asking what the ecomuseum does (and why) is more productive than asking what it is. This requires “horizontal” (comparison of many ecomuseums) and “vertical” (knowledge of local processes) knowledge. For the first, the most complete source in this field is the Osservatorio Ecomusei Internet site (in Italian and English). There are more or less 300 ecomuseums in the world; About 200 are in Europe, and there each one has its information sheet.

For the second there is only research on the ground.