Since 1992, when state-contributions towards the Museum had gradually been diminishing, the Museum’s executives had been forced to take self-financing measures. On January 1st, 1999, the Hamburg Museum of Ethnology, under public law, was turned into an independent foundation. This inevitably entailed quite some changes for the Museum’s research work and its administration.
As a result, the Foundation Council and the Board of Directors became the Museum’s governing bodies. Today the Board of Directors consists of the Museum Director Wulf Köpke (since 1992, Professor of Ethnology) and the Managing Director Thorsten Pück (since 2007, Management Expert). The Board of Directors is observed by the Foundation Council, which serves as a supervisory committee, laying down the principles for the Foundation’s work. The Foundation Council itself is constituted by one member of the Freunde des Museums für Völkerkunde e.V. (Friends of the Hamburg Museum of Ethnology Association), three representatives of the Museum (elected by the Museum's staff), as well as state delegates and representatives of Hamburg’s economy and society.
Before becoming a Foundation under public law, the Museum set up an overall concept and took measures to become economically more efficient. When defining the tasks for the upcoming years, the Museum’s staff took particular consideration for the expectations that await an Ethnological Museum of the 21st Century. They worked out the following guidelines:
In today's world, cross-cultural understanding has become inalienable. We, as a Museum of Ethnology, try to contribute to a better cross-cultural understanding by encouraging other cultures to play an active role within our Museum. Our invitation to become involved in our Museum not only goes out to the 150 nationalities living within Hamburg, but also to other nationalities existing beyond Hamburg’s city borders. Besides profiting from the cultural input received, we have the opportunity to reflect on our own culture, as we work hand in hand with people of other cultures.
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