The world celebrates the International Museum Day on the 18th of May every year to raise awareness of the importance of museums as an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples, in addition to their role in preserving heritage and their importance as a tourist attraction.

According to the International Council of Museums (ICOM) Statutes, adopted by the 22nd General Assembly in Vienna, Austria, on 24 August 2007, the current definition of a museum is as follows:

“A museum is a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education, study and enjoyment.”

In this respect, the International Council of Museums asserted that this occasion aims to provide an opportunity for competent international organizations to communicate with the public so as to highlight the challenges facing museums.

The International Council of Museums (ICOM) established the International Museum Day in 1977. Each year, the organization chooses a different theme for this day tackling topics such as globalization, indigenous peoples, bridging cultural gaps, and caring for the environment.

This year the International Museum Day of is held under the theme "The Power of Museums".

International Museum Day has become steadily more popular since its inception, with 20,000 museums in more than 90 countries participating in International Museum Day 2009, while in 2012, the number of participating museums jumped to 30,000 in 129 countries.

Today there are more museum visitors worldwide than ever before, due to online visits, and there are now more people studying history at degree level than ever before.

On this occasion the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities launched a short promotional film, which sheds light on the Egyptian museums, including the most prominent museums that were established or reopened throughout the recent period.

Also, in activation of the strategy of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities for Sustainable Development 2030, the Egyptian museums have established a number of events and activities for visitors to familiarize them with the ancient Egyptian civilization and to raise tourism and archaeological awareness.

For example, the Antiquities Museum of Bibliotheca Alexandrina celebrated the International Museum Day by presenting a series of workshops that coincide with this year's theme. The workshops focused on pottery using the pottery wheel, weaving using looms and wicker, recycling of some daily used objects, and the use of virtual reality technology. Also, a presentation was delivered on the celebration of International Museum Day, in addition to the museum's mission and vision to promote sustainable development goals.

This is in addition to a large number of museums all over participated in the celebration of the International Museum Day, including:

- The Egyptian Museum in Tahrir,

- The Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo,

- The Coptic Museum in Cairo,

- Tell-Basta Museum in Al-Sharqiyah governorate,

- Tanta Museum in Gharbia governorate,

- Beni Suef Museum in Beni Suef governorate,

- Kafr El-Sheikh Museum in Kafr El-Sheikh governorate,

- Alexandria National Museum in Alexandria governorate,

- Matrouh Museum in Matrouh governorate,

- Suez National Museum in Suez governorate,

- Luxor Museum in Luxor governorate,

- Aswan Museum in Aswan governorate

 - Sohag National Museum in Sohag governorate,

- Mallawi Museum in Minya governorate,

- New Valley Museum in New Valley governorate,

- Manial Palace Museum in Cairo,

- Gayer Anderson Museum in Cairo,

- The Royal Vehicles Museum in Cairo,

- The National Police Museum, located in the Salah al-Din Citadel, in Cairo,

- Rasheed National Museum in Beheira governorate,

- Sharm El Sheikh Museum in Sharm El- Shekh governorate,

- Port Said Museum in Port Said governorate,

- The Mummification Museum in Luxor governorate,

- The Mozaieque Museum in Alexandria governorate,

- The Crocodile Museum in Aswan governorate,

- Ismailia Museum in Ismailia governorate

- The King Farouk Corner Museum in Helwan governorate.