Diverse audience(s) and social inclusion

Today’s museum audiences are highly diverse: intergenerational, transcultural, from a variety of social backgrounds, with (or without) various forms of handicaps. As keepers of cultural heritage, we are responsible for providing cultural education for everybody! How can we develop exhibitions and programs for everyone? How can we design accessible exhibitions and museums?. How can we be “all-inclusive”?

Collection-based cultural education

Museums collect artifacts and objects of historical or cultural significance. Using these collections, cultural education aims to help audiences to access material and nonmaterial culture. How do museums and children’s museums succeed in using objects to render cultural heritage more tangible for children? How can object-based exhibitions designed for general museum audiences become more attractive for families and children

New formats of cultural education: digital learning and beyond

Following the digital turn, digital learning, gamification and changed expectations of our audiences have shaped and transformed our field of work. How can digital learning be used as a tool to design exhibitions and educational programs for children? How can well-known forms of education, be modified and adapted to fit new needs? We would like to discuss new, avant-garde creative formats and methods of cultural education.

21st Century Children

As part of our 21st century children project which is generously supported by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union, we were launching our children in museums industry evaluation during this conference.Throughout the conference participants helped us map and evaluate our sector in order to brand museums as places for learning. An extra day was added to the conference in order to provide in-depth training sessions dedicated to collecting and defining the unique roles and functions children-dedicated museum spaces can take on in providing relevant means of education tailored to the needs of a new generation.

-Operational Enquiry: 22-26.October. Online version available here
-21st century brainstorming: 22-26 October
-Workshop criteria of quality of children-focused museum work: 25 October 1-5pm
-Training sessions: Children’s Museums of the 21st Century, World Café & dedicated keynotes.
–Children in Museums Award ceremony:showcasing and honoring best practice examples to political stakeholders and a wider public.