General aims/Goals/Objective

The primary objective of the Peru Documentation Task Force (DOCUMENTAPERU) is to promote the adoption of best practices in documenting movable heritage in accordance with the 21st century, following the Peruvian context, by utilizing standards, implementing rules for their application, and, where possible, employing a controlled vocabulary.

Strategic Objectives

Describe the current situation regarding the documentation of cultural and natural movable heritage in Peruvian museum institutions.
Disseminate ICOM DOCUMENTATION’s tools, guides, guidelines, and perspectives on museum documentation.
Develop joint actions with the DOMINO Working Group, promoting the exchange of knowledge among professionals in Ibero-America.
Guide the implementation of rules for the use of descriptive categories in documenting cultural and natural heritage assets.
Promote the use of controlled vocabulary, based on existing thesauri or using proposed alternatives to harmonize data.

Present projects

• Contribute to the implementation of the DOMINO Working Group study in Peru: 2nd Survey: Documentation in Ibero-American Museums. [in process]
• Disseminate ICOM DOCUMENTATION tools: Principles, guides, guidelines, and standards on museum documentation in Peruvian institutions. [in process]

Materials

• El valor de la documentación en los museos. La iniciativa DOCUMENTAPERU (2025)
  Presentation made in May during the XXIII Lima International Museum Fair, in commemoration of International Museum Day, to disseminate the importance and actions of ICOM DOCUMENTACIÓN, the DOMINO WG, and the formation of DOCUMENTAPERU TF.
• Documentation Peru Interest Group Guidelines (2025)
  Organizational basis for the team —establishing ICOM DOCUMENTATION as a reference— that can serve as a basis for initiatives in other countries with similar situations. It allows for the grouping and organization of participation of people interested in museum documentation and provides documentation support to local institutions that safeguard cultural and natural heritage.

History

DOCUMENTAPERU was launched in September 2024. It is composed of a group of interested citizens and professionals involved in the documentation of cultural and natural heritage, who coordinated and established the first lines of action and communicated with ICOM DOCUMENTATION.
However, in a context where few members of the Peruvian museum community have joined ICOM, we decided to propose an “interest group”, a term that defines “a group of people organized around a common interest, with the purpose of acting jointly in defense of this interest.” The topic of interest that brought us together was the documentation of Peru’s cultural and natural heritage, operating openly with people interested in and dedicated to documenting collections in museums or in reserves/repositories of research projects where archaeological materials are housed.
Since 2025, we have coordinated and supported activities with the DOMINO WG and participated in outreach events across the country, such as the Lima Historic Center Museum Fair, which has allowed us to recruit new members to the team. The team is composed of professionals in archaeology, history, art history, and audiovisual media, working in central organizations, public institutions, and private institutions.

Participants and contact

general task force contact

Cecilia Huamán
César Huiza
Christian Altamirano
Daniel Mansilla
Dennis Chevarría
Manuel Huayaney
Natalia Cisneros
Noelia Roa