The ITP: The British Museum in Dialogue with Museums in Oman

The British Omani Society is thrilled to be collaborating with the British Museum and Oman Across the Ages Museum to host a Panel Discussion on July 16th 2025 entitled: ‘Creating a Global Network: UK and Omani Museums in Dialogue’.

This year, the BOS provided a grant for Nabhan Al Barwani, Head of the Collection Section at Oman Across Ages Museum (OAAM) to partake in the International Training Programme (ITP), a highly successful residential summer programme hosted jointly by the British Museum and UK partner museums.

The panel will discuss Nabhan’s insights around the Oman Across Ages Museum and his experience on the ITP programme at the British Museum. The panel will include Claire Messenger, Manager of International Training Programme, and Zeina Klink-Hoppe, Curator for the Modern Middle East, at The British Museum.

This study programme is the latest collaboration in an established relationship between the British Museum and Omani museums, which have successfully linked the UK and Oman in knowledge, skills and cultural exchanges.

In preparation for the panel, here is some background on the British Museum’s ITP and its on-going work and collaboration with museums in Oman.

'Making their mark: women silversmiths from Oman' display at the British Museum

The British Museum’s On-Going Collaboration with Museums in Oman

The ITP aims to foster specialist skills, a sense of shared cultural purpose and good museum practice among participants from countries around the world. It works to develop a sustainable global network of inspired museum and heritage professionals, through sharing knowledge, skills and experiences. 

Since its establishment in 2006, the ITP network has grown to include 373 fellows from 61 countries across Africa, the Middle East, South and East Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Oceania. This includes 4 fellows from Oman, including Ali Al Kathiri, Director of the Museum of the Frankincense Land, who participated in the 2018 ITP with support from the British Omani Society.

Ruqaiya Al Shokri

Oman Across Ages Museum – A Flourishing Partnership

The Museum’s collaboration with the Oman Across the Ages Museum dates to 2013, when Mouza Sulaiman Mohamed Al-Wardi was an ITP fellow. Mouza’s participation in the ITP has led to over a decade of continued dialogue: significantly, in 2023, she worked with British Museum colleagues on the Asahi Shimbun Display 'Making their mark: women silversmiths from Oman' which explored the stories of three women who are helping to revive the longstanding tradition of silversmithing in Oman. You can read more about this display in this British Museum blog, as well as on page 47 of our 2024 Annual Review.

Mouza is now Assistant Director General for Museum Affairs at OAAM, and the Museum is delighted to be supporting her team’s development through the ITP – first through Ruqaiya Al Shokri’s participation in the 2024 ITP, and in 2025 through Nabhan Al Barwani’s participation.

Ameena Abdullah al-Abri ITP 2014

Nabhan’s Introduction to the 2025 International Training Programme

The British Museum will be welcoming Nabhan Taghlib Al Barwani, Head of the Collection Section at Oman Across Ages Museum (OAAM), to the ITP from July 5th to August 17th. Nabhan will be the fifth Omani fellow to participate in the programme!

The British Museum was keen to offer Nabhan a place on the 2025 ITP as a way of building skills and developing relationships with colleagues at OAAM, particularly as it’s a new museum, having opened in 2023.

As Head of the Collection Section at OAAM, Nabhan is responsible for searching and selecting objects for acquisition to build the museum’s collection. He oversees the registration process of acquired objects, which includes documenting, measuring and photographing, and ensures all information is recorded on the collection database. Nabhan manages a team which undertakes any necessary conservation work, and he manages the requirements of the Collection Section, including equipment, administration, and budgets, working closely with the Department of Finance Affairs. He submits period reports on the Section’s work to museum management and works with curators to select objects for the museum’s displays.

Join the Panel Discussion on July 16th

You will be able to hear all about Nabhan’s experience on the ITP at the upcoming BOS Panel Discussion with the British Museum on July 16th: Creating a Global Network: UK and Omani Museums in Dialogue.

BOS members can book their spot for the Panel Discussion here. For those who wish to attend online, you can register via Zoom here.

For non-members, please send an e-mail to rsvp@britishomani.org to enquire about in-person attendance.