On July 24 2020, ICOM held its annual meetings. Part of this was the advisory council, which includes representatives of all ICOM committees. The other part was the General Conference, open to all ICOM members, although only committees can vote. These meetings bring together hundreds of representatives, and usually they meet in Paris, where ICOM has its headquarters. As an ICOM affiliated organisation, EXARC can join these meetings and also vote.

The 2020 annual meetings however took place online. This was especially challenging as there is a crisis which affects all museums worldwide (COVID-19) but besides that, there is also an internal crisis, affecting the ICOM organisation itself. 

These crises are too large to handle in a digital setting with hundreds of participants, especially if you are pressed for time and have little experience with online meetings. Therefore, the agenda was simplified to agreeing to minutes and reports, and answering technical questions. This alone was an accomplishment to ICOM. 

EXARC hopes that the problems touched briefly upon during the online meetings will lead to a serious reappraisal of ICOM and its internal structure so it will soon lead the way again in the international museum world.