ABSTRACT
In a world in which people speak hundreds of languages and dialects, and in which many people cannot read or write at all, museums offer an avenue for international communication. Whatever their differences, all museums are keepers of a patrimony that belongs not only to the countries in which they are located but, in a larger and philosophical sense, to all humankind. As George Salle, president of the International Council of Museums in the 1950s, explained,
UNESCO's aim is to bring people together through cultures and the exchange of their spiritual heritage. And museums are most advantageously placed to help in the good work. They are the only place in the world where, with the objects as interpreter, a language is spoken that everyone understands."2
