Rethinking Museums: fostering belonging, optimism and meaning for children, young people and families

Description

Against the background of a slow post-Covid recovery and ingrained inequalities of access amongst museum audiences, we will share examples of museum programmes that have successfully welcomed children, young people and families who have historically been excluded. Often these new audiences have found a sense of safety and belonging in their local museums and become less isolated.

In an increasingly polarised world where online disinformation proliferates, museums have a vital role in enabling people to build empathy and explore social justice issues. Work in this space helps museums remain relevant to younger audiences and helps them feel more optimistic about the future.

As the number of museum traineeships and apprenticeships are shrinking, so are the routes into a career in heritage. We’ll explore programmes that are opening up the museum workforce and enabling a wider group of young people to find meaningful work and build skills and confidence for future employment.

The conference programme has three strands:

These sessions will be bookended by expert keynote speakers and the launch of the new Kids in Museums Manifesto.

Explore the programme.

Bursaries

We want the conference as accessible as possible. We have free tickets available for under 25s and others who are unable to afford to buy a ticket.

To apply for a bursary, please complete the short form on this page.

The deadline for applications for bursaries is 10 January 2025.