The director of National Museums Liverpool said last month that talk of repealing the Human Rights Act was “embarrassing”.
Speaking at the second Federation of Human Rights Museums (FIHRM) conference in Liverpool, David Fleming told delegates that he was dismayed by recent attacks on the act by members of the government.
“We have campaigners travelling from all corners of the globe to Liverpool, which shows the widespread commitment to tackle contemporary forms of racism, discrimination and human-rights abuses.”
He argued that the act should be “implemented sensibly” rather than repealed.
More than 150 delegates from 20 countries discussed the role museums can play in promoting human rights and changing visitor perceptions.
But in a keynote address to the conference, Zahava Doering, editor of Curator: The Museum Journal, at the Smithsonian Institution, said there were no studies that showed museums could change visitors’ behaviour or views.
“Exhibitions are inefficient methods for affecting change,” she said. Instead, Doering argued they might reinforce and extend existing behaviours.
“We know nothing about the long-term effects of programmes,” she added. “The problem is that we don’t invest in long-term longitudinal studies.”
But Fleming said that he believed museums could make an impact on human rights if they worked with partner organisations.
Speaking at the second Federation of Human Rights Museums (FIHRM) conference in Liverpool, David Fleming told delegates that he was dismayed by recent attacks on the act by members of the government.
“We have campaigners travelling from all corners of the globe to Liverpool, which shows the widespread commitment to tackle contemporary forms of racism, discrimination and human-rights abuses.”
He argued that the act should be “implemented sensibly” rather than repealed.
More than 150 delegates from 20 countries discussed the role museums can play in promoting human rights and changing visitor perceptions.
But in a keynote address to the conference, Zahava Doering, editor of Curator: The Museum Journal, at the Smithsonian Institution, said there were no studies that showed museums could change visitors’ behaviour or views.
“Exhibitions are inefficient methods for affecting change,” she said. Instead, Doering argued they might reinforce and extend existing behaviours.
“We know nothing about the long-term effects of programmes,” she added. “The problem is that we don’t invest in long-term longitudinal studies.”
But Fleming said that he believed museums could make an impact on human rights if they worked with partner organisations.
