The upcoming elections in Wales and Scotland are an opportune moment to amplify our advocacy efforts and make the case for the value of museums to our communities and to wider society.
Museums enhance our quality of life and help improve our mental and physical health; create better and more equitable places to live and work; and help us to understand and negotiate the complex world around us.
They work in partnership with communities on crucial topics and policy areas such as environmental sustainability, social justice and anti-racism. Museums also support learning and education for all, which can help to tackle the attainment gap.
The Museums Association (MA) believes that our museums are worth investing in, so we are calling for everyone to have the right to access and participate in good-quality museums near to where they live, as well as for increased and sustained public investment in museums.
If you are not already advocating for your museum, now is the time to start. Write to candidates standing in your local area and ask them about their commitments to museums. Consider inviting them to your museum, as it’s by seeing it first hand that politicians can really understand the impact of the work that you do.
India Divers is the policy and ethics lead at the MA