What’s Eating Your Collections?
Do you know your furniture beetle from your biscuit beetle? Have you spotted some unusual holes in an object? Are you worried that something might be lurking in a dark corner of your collections store?
Join Jane Thompson-Webb, Conservation Team Leader at Birmingham Museum Trust, for a two day delve into the world of identifying and dealing with museum pests.
The Integrated Pest Management course is a hands-on training event. It is an opportunity to learn about the risks from insect pests and how to mitigate them. It is ideal for anyone working directly with collections, carrying out routine collections care or cleaning, or anyone in need of a refresher in this vital and fascinating area of collections management.
Please note that participants must attend both days of the training.
This training event directly supports areas 6.1 an approved collections care and conservation policy and 6.2 a collections care and conservation plan of the Accreditation Standard.
Places are limited, maximum two delegates per organisation. Priority will be given to non-NPO and non-National museums in the West Midlands which are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation.
Tea and coffee will be provided but participants are asked to bring their own packed lunch. We will be working in the collection stores for part of the session. Please bring some warm clothing, sensible shoes.
If you would benefit from any access support, please answer ‘yes’ to the access requirements question on the booking form and email the WMMD team as early as possible stating the support you require.
Free parking is available on site. The nearest railway station is Duddeston (about a 10 minute walk to the venue).
What’s Eating Your Collections?
Wednesday 25 January and Thursday 26 January 2023, 9.30am-3.30pm
Museum Collection Centre, 25 Dollman Street, Birmingham B7 4RQ
If you can’t see the booking button this event is fully booked. To join the waiting list please email wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk
Museums and the Legacy of Imperialism
Join Isilda Almeida and Maurice Davies for a short online event exploring the legacy of imperialism in museums.
Focussing on collections displays, participants will:
- Learn how 19th and early 20th-century museums are rooted in colonialism and imperialism
- Understand how museums changed the histories they present in the late 20th and early 21st centuries
- Become familiar with the recent pressures on museums to decolonise and examples of good practice in UK museums
Participants will also be invited to develop ideas to bring in a wider range of people to present a wider range of histories in their museum.
Isilda and Maurice will deliver the session via Zoom using a range of exercises and interactive features, including Breakout Rooms. Participants are encouraged to ask questions and actively participate in discussion. Some activities will also involve the use of Padlet. If you have any concerns about accessibility or usability for these features please contact michelle.davies@ironbridge.org.uk
Between them, Isilda and Maurice bring knowledge, professional and lived-experience, current approaches to Equity and Inclusion, contextualised by historical and political events that have shaped how museums got to where they are.
This event is being delivered in partnership by WMMD and South East Museum Development (SEMD). It is the first in a series of three events linked to the WMMD Inclusive Museums programme. Future events scheduled for early 2023 are Involving Volunteers in your EDI Journey, and Co-curation with Communities. Events will promoted via the WMMD newsletter and website and bookings will be first come first served for each event.
Maximum two delegates per organisation. Priority will be given to delegates from non-NPO and non-National museums in the West Midlands which are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation.
The presentation for this event will be auto-captioned via Zoom. If you would benefit from live captioning or any other form of access support, please answer ‘yes’ to the access requirements question on the booking form and email the WMMD team as early as possible stating the support you require.
All participants will receive an email containing a Zoom link to the training prior to the event. The email will be sent to the email address used for booking. If you have not received an email the day before the event please contact us.
If you can’t see the booking button this event is fully booked, please email wmmd@ironbridge.co.uk to join the waiting list.
Isilda Almeida and Maurice Davies deliver tailored approaches to increasing inclusive and equitable practice in the cultural sector, including training, advice, strategic planning, service review and community engagement.
Isilda Almeida, works as an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Consultant in the culture sector and brings with her over 20 years’ experience of the UK heritage sector. Isilda will be supported by Maurice Davies, who brings nearly 40 years’ experience in UK museums and galleries as a policymaker, leader and curator. He has championed equity and inclusion since the 1990s when he was editor of Museums Journal. He has advised organisations such as the Greater London Authority, the National Museum Directors Council and the National Trust on aspects of heritage and race. Most recently he has helped Museum Detox with an organisational review and, with Isilda, delivered training on museums, equity and inclusion.
Museums and the Legacy of Imperialism
Tuesday 6 December, 10am-12.30pm
Online
Developing a Crisis Communications Strategy
This one day online session will provide delegates with insight into how to deal confidently and effectively with a range of negative or ‘crisis’ issues, including complaints, poor publicity and negative attacks.
By attending this sessions delegates will:
- Gain insight into tools which can help them develop their own communications strategies
- Understand what a crisis is, when to escalate, and when not to
- Develop skills to manage and engage with stakeholders
- Learn how to train a spokesperson and write copy for a crisis
- Learn how their organisation can emerge from a crisis with its reputation intact
This session will be facilitated by Miki Lentin and Maurice Davies. Miki and Maurice will deliver the session via Zoom using a range of exercises and interactive features, including Breakout Rooms, Polls scenario activities, presentations and self-led exercises. Participants are encouraged to ask questions and actively participate in discussion. Some activities will also involve the use of Padlet. If you have any concerns about accessibility or usability for these features please contact michelle.davies@ironbridge.org.uk
Regular comfort breaks and a lunch break will be scheduled throughout the day.
Miki Lentin is a strategic creative consultant with over twenty years of experience across the public and private sectors. With a background in communications, Miki now works with a variety of cultural and creative clients on marketing, audience development, community engagement, strategic planning, communications and branding.
Maurice Davies brings nearly 40 years of experience in UK museums and galleries as a policymaker, leader and curator, including experience as Head of Policy and Communication for the Museums Association. Maurice is currently delivering the Equity and Inclusion in Museums programme for MDUK.
Maximum two delegates per organisation. Priority will be given to delegates from non-NPO and non-National museums in the West Midlands which are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation.
The presentations for this event will be captioned. If you would benefit from live captioning in break out room activities or any other form of access support, please answer ‘yes’ to the access requirements question on the booking form and email the WMMD team as early as possible stating the support you require.
All participants will receive an email containing a Zoom link to the training prior to the event. The email will be sent to the email address used for booking. If you have not received an email the day before the event please contact us.
If you can’t see the booking button this event is fully booked. Please email wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk if you would like to go on the waiting list.
Front of House Training: Families with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
As museums welcome back more visitors, ensuring interactions are friendly and welcoming between people working in front facing museum roles and SEND families has never been more important.
A 2019 study from Ecclesiastical surveyed SEND families who had visited museums, castles and heritage sites and found that 42% of parents with special needs children reported that staff or visitors were unfriendly or made them feel uncomfortable.
This session from Kids in Museums will ensure that your museum avoids becoming part of this statistic, offering ideas for fun and accessible interactions with SEND families.
In this virtual training session, aimed at front facing staff and volunteers, we will:
- learn why SEND family visitors are an important part of your visitor profile
- understand the barriers SEND families face when visiting museums
- come up with ways to tackle common scenarios together
- explore playful ways to interact with SEND families that are relevant to your site
Everything you need to know about cyber security – webinar
Cyber security means protecting computer systems and networks from theft, damage, and other forms of criminal activity. Strong cyber security protects a charity’s ability to deliver services, keeping its technology working and its data safe, preventing loss of revenue, reputational damage, and much more.
Charity Digital’s webinar aims to empower. It aims to give you the tools to protect yourself from criminals. We explore, among other things, the basic definition of cyber security, how to prevent cyber-attacks, how to react to breaches, how to educate your team, and so much more.
The presenter from Charity Digital will run through the above, building on information gained from the National Cyber Security Centre and other allies across the charity sector. The comprehensive session aims to help charities of all shapes and sizes bolster their defences and protect themselves.
Attendees can expect to learn:
- Types of cyber attack
- How to prevent and react to cyber attacks
- Cost-effective tools charities can use to help
Roots & Branches: Seeds For Action Sharing Event
Earlier this year, the Carbon Literacy for Museums Toolkit was launched as part of the Roots & Branches Project, a collaboration between The Carbon Literacy Project, Museum Development England, and Manchester Museum supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. As a result, hundreds of museum staff, volunteers, and freelancers have become Carbon Literate.
During this online event, we’ll hear from some of these learners about how their Carbon Literacy actions are progressing and what’s next for their museums’ climate action journeys. We’ll be launching the updated, new-look Carbon Literacy for Museums Toolkit, which contains loads of new content and can now be used to train staff online or in person.
You’ll also hear about Museum Development England’s upcoming Seeds for Action Programme. The Programme will include a series of live online workshops and networking sessions and the creation and dissemination of digital resources – designed to support and inspire museums to build on their carbon reduction strategies and approaches to climate action.
There will be an update on the development of the ‘Roots’ of the Roots & Branches Project – Manchester Museum’s 3rd-floor environmental action hub, including information about how to get involved.
Finally, there will also be an optional opportunity at the end of the session to network with others from across the museum sector who are interested in environmental action.
This event will run from 1.30pm to 3pm, with the optional 30 minute networking opportunity running between 3pm-3.30pm.
Book your place on Roots & Branches: Seeds For Action Sharing Event
In Case of Emergency: Practical salvage training
Disasters can come in many shapes and sizes. Are you confident that you know what to do?
This practical training will be led by Emma Dadson from Harwell Restoration Ltd.
Participants will have the opportunity to get hands-on, look at effects of water on collections and practice the decision-making that would be required in a real recovery situation.
The training will cover
- practical techniques for treating damage to objects and stabilisation methods for major incidents
- how to respond to an escape of water incident safely whilst minimising damage to collections
- impacts of water on different object types
Places are limited, maximum two delegates per organisation. Priority will be given to non-NPO and non-National museums in the West Midlands which are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation.
Please wear suitable clothing for dealing with wet objects. Tea and coffee will be provided but participants are asked to bring their own packed lunch.
If you would benefit from any access support, please answer ‘yes’ to the access requirements question on the booking form and email the WMMD team as early as possible stating the support you require.
If the booking button isn’t visible the event is fully booked. If you’d like to join the waiting list please email wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk
Web and social media content accessibility for blind and visually impaired visitors
This virtual training session delivered by Vocal Eyes will support attendees to develop accessible practice when creating digital content, covering text, images and video.
By the end of the session you will better understand:
- How to make website content accessible
- Good practice in headings and link text, alt text, audio description of film
- The online visitor journey for people who are blind or visually impaired, and screen reader users
- Creating accessible social media posts across a range of platforms
The session will be delivered by two trainers – a VocalEyes team member with digital accessibility expertise, and a blind or visually impaired visual awareness trainer.
Please note – the session does not cover technical aspects of website development; the focus is on content.
Priority will be given to delegates from non-NPO and non-National museums in the West Midlands which are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation.
The webinar will be live captioned through StageText and MyClearText.
All participants will receive an email containing a Zoom link prior to the event. The email will be sent to the email address used for booking. If you have not received an email by the day before the event please contact us.
Web and social media content accessibility for blind and visually impaired visitors
Wednesday 18 January 2023, 10am-12noon
Online
Digital Marketing Day 2022: less < IS > more
Join the Arts Marketing Association in person, away from your screens, focused and distraction free, at the British Museum to discover why, when it comes to digital, less is more. It will be a packed day of learning – time out of the office that will save you time once you go back. There’s an Early Bird member rate currently available, plus 15 bursaries up for grabs that cover the full delegate cost.
Find out more about Digital Marketing Day 2022
Wednesday 30 November, 9.30am-5pm
British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG
Introduction to the Accreditation Standard
This practical workshop is an introduction to the Museum Accreditation Standard and is aimed at museums who are considering applying for Accreditation for the first time seeking to refresh their understanding of the scheme.
Participants will gain an overview of:
- eligibility criteria
- the application processes
- the different sections within the standard
- accompanying guidance documents
- sources of other advice and support
The workshop also has practical exercises that will help participants plan their application. There will be a break in the middle of the workshop to allow delegates to step away from computer screens.
This workshop is delivered on behalf of West Midlands Museum Development by Jennie Pitceathly. Jennie is a freelance consultant in the museum and heritage sector. She has extensive knowledge of the museum Accreditation Standard having worked as an Accreditation Adviser with Arts Council England and Museum Development North West.
Maximum two delegates per organisation.
The presentation for this event will be live captioned through MyClearText. If you would benefit from any other form of access support, please answer ‘yes’ to the access requirements question on the booking form and email the WMMD team as early as possible stating the support you require.
All participants will receive an email containing a Zoom link to the training prior to the event. The email will be sent to the email address used for booking. If you have not received an email the day before the event please contact us.
Introduction to the Accreditation Standard
Friday 14 October, 10am-12noon
Online
If the booking button isn’t visible this event is fully booked, to join the waiting list please email wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk
