The policy column
Museums are agents for change
Last month, the UN high commissioner for refugees described the crisis as a global phenomenon and said turning people away “won’t work”.
This month, Refugee Week (20-26 June) will be celebrated in the UK and many museums will be marking the occasion. Events including exhibitions, creative workshops and book launches are taking place at venues ranging from the Cardiff Story to Nottingham Contemporary.
I was struck by the role that museums can play in highlighting this issue and providing spaces for debate, learning and understanding when I read some of the many Museums Change Lives case studies on the Museums Association’s website.
For example, the international project Multaqa: Museum as Meeting Point describes a partnership between four museums in Berlin to train Syrian and Iraqi refugees as museum guides, so that they can provide tours for refugees in their native languages.
The new case studies show a range of projects working with diverse communities. The MA is reviewing Museums Change Lives to learn what has chimed with the sector and where real change has happened, with a view to relaunching the campaign early next year.
We live in challenging times – museums can improve health and wellbeing, build stronger places for us to live and work in, and inspire people and ideas – and we want to hear how you are meeting this challenge.
www.refugeeweek.org.uk
www.museumsassociation.org/museums-change-lives/25042016-multaqa
This month, Refugee Week (20-26 June) will be celebrated in the UK and many museums will be marking the occasion. Events including exhibitions, creative workshops and book launches are taking place at venues ranging from the Cardiff Story to Nottingham Contemporary.
I was struck by the role that museums can play in highlighting this issue and providing spaces for debate, learning and understanding when I read some of the many Museums Change Lives case studies on the Museums Association’s website.
For example, the international project Multaqa: Museum as Meeting Point describes a partnership between four museums in Berlin to train Syrian and Iraqi refugees as museum guides, so that they can provide tours for refugees in their native languages.
The new case studies show a range of projects working with diverse communities. The MA is reviewing Museums Change Lives to learn what has chimed with the sector and where real change has happened, with a view to relaunching the campaign early next year.
We live in challenging times – museums can improve health and wellbeing, build stronger places for us to live and work in, and inspire people and ideas – and we want to hear how you are meeting this challenge.
www.refugeeweek.org.uk
www.museumsassociation.org/museums-change-lives/25042016-multaqa