<p><strong>Unique or Special Features of the Organisation</strong></p>

<p>The new Belau National Museum (BNM) is designed and built incorporating the Palau motif of a traditional canoe, a kaeb.&nbsp; On the compound is the replica of a&nbsp;traditional Palau bai, a meeting hall of the traditional chief&#39;s council and an historical building, built during the Japanese era, surrounded by a botanical garden.</p>

<p><strong>Greatest Current Challenge</strong></p>

<p>BNM&#39;s greatest challenge is a move to&nbsp;a new building during March 2004, proper treatment of the collections during the move is a concern.&nbsp; The new structure wil ensure that current programmes are&nbsp;enhanced and&nbsp;improved to better serve the public.&nbsp; It wil be a challenge to incorporate economic valuation of&nbsp;culture and the arts into the&nbsp;BNM&#39;s plans.</p>

<p><strong>Greatest Current Strength</strong></p>

<p>BNM&#39;s strength is that it is the only national institution of its kind in the Repbulic of Palau and, having been establsihed in 1955, is the oldest museum in the whole of the Micronesian region.&nbsp; The collections have been built from images to ethnographic items to literary materials as well as community outreach programmes.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The BNM works with local artists in the development of arts through the museum shop.&nbsp; The BNM is in the process of organising a Belau Federation of Arts to incorporate the arts at all levels and has just begun to incorporate natural history as a new section within the museum.</p>