ICOM Arms & Military Executive Board – President and Chair

Laura Bell is Director of Collections, Research and Learning. Laura has worked in museums for over twenty years, across national, local authority and private institutions. Laura’s current role at the Royal Armouries includes being Executive Board champion for the Tower of London, director of conservation, curatorial, libraries, archives, registration and object loans, public events, live interpretation, community engagement, education, research, lectures and conferences, and is the director of the UK’s National Firearms Centre. Laura has a (Hons) Degree in Archaeology, a Masters in Museum Studies, and Diploma in Art Law and Ethics. Laura is Chair of the UK’s Museums Weapons Group, a member of the Meyrick Society, is an external adviser on the Worshipful Company of Gunmakers Heritage and Collections Committee, is a University of Oxford Cultural Leaders Alumni and was a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Leeds for five years. Laura became Chair of ICOM Arms and Military in November 2025.

 

ICOM Arms & Military Executive Board – Vice President and Vice Chair

Witali Gerber – Military Historian and Curator for War, Conflict & Youth Culture at the Bundeswehr Military History Museum. He was the lead curator of the museum`s first international digital exhibition, “Berlin Airlift Remembered”, produced in collaboration with the Royal Air Force Museum London, the National Museum of the United States Air Force, and the Allied Museum Berlin. His academic background in Military Studies at the University of Potsdam, informs his work across the fields of conflict studies, contemporary history, and military ethics. He has presented his research at numerous international academic and museological institutions, including King’s College London, Aarhus University, the Royal Historical Society, the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, the Royal Air Force Museum, the National Archives (UK), the Royal Armouries, Sciences Po, and within the professional networks of ICOM Arms & Military and ICOM-CIMUSET.

 

ICOM Arms & Military Executive Board – Secretary General

Ralph Lange – historian and art historian, curator at the Centre de documentation sur la forteresse de Luxembourg at the National Museum of Archeology, History and Art (MNAHA). Thematically focused on the Modern period, the centre also manages Luxembourg’s fortress museum “Dräi Eechelen” showcasing the Grand-Duchy’s collections from the multipolar perspectives of its fortification, history, and identities. Exhibitions and publications on Modern military history, material culture of baroque kettledrum banners and Habsburg army flag tips, and on Roman political history. Joined the IC in 2024.

 

ICOM Arms & Military Executive Board – Treasurer

Christoph  Hatschek,  born  in  Vienna in 1974, studied history and Romance languages  at  the  University  of  Vienna,  the  University  of Paris IV – Sorbonne  and  the University of Paris VIII – Saint-Denis, and obtained his doctorate  in  history  from the University of Vienna in 2009. From 1998 to 2024,  he  worked  at  the  Museum  of  Military History / Military History Institute  in  Vienna,  most recently  as  deputy director and head of the collections  and exhibitions department. Since 2024, he has been working at
the  Federal Ministry of Defence, currently at the Centre for Human-Centred Leadership  and  Defence  Policy.  Since  2025, he has been a member of the board  of  the  ICOM International Committee for Museums and Collections of Arms and Military History (ICOMAM) and its treasurer.

 

ICOM Arms & Military Executive Board – Ordinary Members

Janko Boštjančič is a museum consultant and the director of the Park of Military History in Pivka, Slovenia. He was the initiator of the idea to turn the old, abandoned and dilapidated barracks into a museum. The project, which he has led since its founding in 2006, has developed into the largest museum complex in the Republic of Slovenia. In his research work, he focuses primarily on the military history of the second half of the 19th and 20th centuries. In 2024, the exhibition “Enigma – The Mysterious Behind the Scenes of War” was awarded the Valvasor Award – the highest national recognition for achievements in the field of museology. He has been a member of the ICOMAM Executive Board since 2022.

 

Osvaldo L. Cangas is the founder and director of the U-176 Museum-Institute for War Studies Inc. in Miami. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Master of Arts in Sociology, along with advanced certificates in Museum Studies and Museology and Museum Management. A dedicated researcher of military history and veterans’ records, he is currently finalizing a bilingual biography on the life of Pfc. Baldomero Rodríguez, a Cuban paratrooper in the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment during WWII. Osvaldo is a passionate advocate for cultural and military heritage, maintaining active memberships in the American Historical Association, the American Alliance of Museums, the Small Museum Association, the American Library Association, and the Museums Association of the Caribbean. He also contributes to community education and heritage preservation as a volunteer at the Miami-Dade Military Museum & Memorial.

 

Nand Cremers is the (ad interim) Head of the Edged Weapons and Armour Department at the War Heritage Institute, Belgium. He studied History at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) before working for several years in the banking and insurance sector, specialising in legal claims management. In 2021, he made a career transition and joined the War Heritage Institute as Junior Curator of Edged Weapons and Armour. In 2023, he was appointed ad interim Head of the Arms and Armour department. He also co-curated the renewed Arms and Armour gallery in 2022. His current research focuses on edged weapons from the Japanese Edo and Meiji periods, as well as arms and armour from the 16th and 17th century Low Countries.

 

Mitchell Dare is an Assistant Curator in the Military Heraldry and Technology team at the Australian War Memorial, focused on developing, cataloguing and providing access to the National Collection. He was previously a Project Officer in the Collection Logistics and Projects team, where he provided collection management support for a major redevelopment, and a Collections Officer in the Preventative Conservation team.  He holds a Bachelor of Arts (History)/Bachelor of Business from Monash University and a Masters of Cultural Heritage from Deakin University. His first full time role was with the Veterans Heritage Project, teaching museum skills to returned service organisations. He also worked with the Collections Team at the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) and was an Ordinary Member on the ACT branch of both the Australian Museum and Galleries Association and the National Trust of Australia.

 

Ryan Johnston is the Director, Visitor Experience at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, one of the world’s most visited war museums and memorials. In this role he oversees front of house services and commercial activity, as well as the Shrine’s annual program of more than 160 remembrance services, including Victoria’s State Remembrance Day Service. Ryan has also served as Head of Art of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, and as the inaugural Director of Buxton Contemporary Art Museum in Melbourne. Ryan is also an Expert Examiner under the Australian Government’s Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act and an approved valuer for the Australian Government’s Cultural Gift Program.

 

Dr. Shaimaa Mohamed Naguib Mostafa is a museum professional from Egypt with over ten years of experience in cultural heritage, museum administration, and military history collections. She holds a PhD in Heritage and Museum Studies and is involved in several international committees of ICOM. The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in Egypt is where she most recently held the position of Tourism Specialist. Her areas of expertise include curating military exhibits, conserving collections of weapons and equipment, and developing inclusive interpretive techniques. Additionally, she has managed various projects about military heritage awareness, exhibition content development, and community engagement in museums. In a similar vein, She is particularly interested in military history collections in the MENA region and has a strong interest in reimagining museum narratives.

 

Mark Murray-Flutter joined the Armouries at the Tower of London in 1984 as a Museum Assistant, becoming a Curator in 1988. At the Tower he had responsibility for creating the 19th Century Gallery of Arms. With the development of a new Royal Armouries museum in 1994-96 at Leeds, Mark, now a Senior Curator, had curatorial responsibility for the Hunting and Sporting Gallery. He still has responsibility for their content and look. He recently curated a Waterloo exhibition, Waterloo, The Art of Battle, writing the exhibition catalogue and lecturing on the art of Waterloo at the Royal Academy. He currently writes a column for a sporting magazine. He is considered a leading authority on history of firearm markings and codes. He also has a significant presence on Tik Tok as a museum influencer. In 2005 Mark managed the design and the building of the National Firearms Centre at the Royal Armouries, where he now works, specialising in hunting and sporting weapons and taking the lead in liaising with UK, EU and international law enforcement. On the world stage in 2013/14 he was part of the team preparing the UK position on the UN Arms Trade Treaty, representing the interests of all museums. He is currently heavily involved in working to mitigate the effects of any new proposed EU firearms legislation on the museum community in Europe, prior to 2019 he presented position papers to the EU Parliament, advising and working on text with the EU Commission. From 2016 till 2022 Mark was a Board Member of ICOMAM with responsibility for legislation that effected member museums worldwide. Mark now wishes to return to the Board after the requisite break and to continue this vital role.

 

Calum Robertson is the Senior Curator of Modern and Military History at National Museums Scotland in Edinburgh, where he is responsible for – amongst other things – the military collections and
the galleries at the National War Museum, Edinburgh Castle. His main research interests are traditional Scottish arms and armour and the history of collecting and collectors, and he’s currently working on a related exhibition and publications. He is particularly active as a specialist advisor in the UK museums and galleries sector, frequently acting as an expert assessor for the UK government’s Export of Works of Art and Ivory Exemption schemes, and the Scottish Government’s National Fund for Acquisitions. Before joining National Museums Scotland in 2019, he worked at Cambridge University, where he had been a student in the Department of Archaeology’s Heritage Research Centre.

 

Chang-hun Yang serves as Chief Curator of the National Aviation Museum of Korea, leading exhibitions and collections strategy. Previously a Senior Curator at the War Memorial of Korea, he developed historically grounded public programs and exhibitions. As a member of the ICOM Standing Committee SAREC overseeing grant review and allocation, he contributes to shaping cultural and heritage funding priorities. With a professional background spanning the military and museum sectors, his research focuses on material culture and cultural heritage protection. His latest endeavor is co-authoring the book Heritage at War, Plan and Prepare, published in 2024.