Foundations of Community Engagement: Building relationships for meaningful connection and collaboration
| Instructor: | Shannyn Palmer |
|---|---|
| Course Date: | March 4, 2024 |
| Cost: | $400 |
The role of museums is evolving in a rapidly changing world. A global reckoning with the legacies of colonialism and collecting has raised questions about what it means to be a museum in the 21st Century. Museums are increasingly expected to be responsive to their audiences and actively develop the roles that they play within society, which requires a re-imagining of museum practice and accelerated efforts to develop new ways of working.
The challenge and opportunities of museums today is to connect effectively and meaningfully with the communities they serve to tell stories, explore issues, and deliver powerful experiences that reflect the diverse and entangled nature of our past and present.
And yet, while terms like ‘community engagement’ and ‘collaboration’ feature prominently in contemporary cultural institutions, their use is often inconsistent. This works to dilute their meaning and can lead to tokenistic claims of inclusion that perpetuate the notion that community engagement is something that can be tacked on to a project.
This course is designed to prompt thinking about why community engagement is important and to begin to develop a practical understanding of how to engage with people and communities in ethical, meaningful, and empowering ways. It draws from leading thought in community engaged practice to provide the necessary concepts, information, and practical tools to begin developing an approach to effective and meaningful community engagement.
Learning Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Think critically about why community engagement is important in the contemporary museum context
- Understand the difference between tokenistic and meaningful community engagement practices
- Identify key principles of meaningful community-engaged practice
- Identify different types of engagement and how to apply this in your project/exhibition/programming design and engagement approach
- Develop a community engagement plan to guide your project and the engagement process
- Identify key ways to build trust and genuine relationships when engaging with communities
Terms such as ‘community engagement’, ‘collaboration’ and ‘co-creation’ are becoming increasingly common in cultural institutions and yet, the way in which they are used is often ill-defined and inconsistent. This works to dilute their meaning and can lead to tokenistic claims of collaboration that perpetuate the idea that community engagement is a box-ticking exercise, or something that can be tacked onto a project when it suits.
Thoughtful consideration of the core values and principles that underpin and guide relationship building and collaboration is critical to the development of a meaningful community-engaged practice. In this webinar we will explore the central role of guiding principles, not just as words, but as actions that embody core values and provide a roadmap for implementing an ethical, empowering and meaningful community engagement practice.
If you would like to watch the webinar Shannyn Palmer led through Museum Study on February 6, 2024,
Guiding principles: the foundation of a meaningful community engagement practice, here is the link to the recording on the Museum Study YouTube Channel
https://youtu.be/VieLa6yykus
Too learn more about taking an online professional development course with Museum Study visit What is involved in taking a Museum Study course?
Foundations of Community Engagement addresses the American Association for State and Local History's Stewardship of Collections Standard 2, The Institution legally, ethically, and effectively manages, documents, cares for, and uses the collections.
- Are staff and volunteers aware of laws and regulations with regard to collections?
- Does the institution recognize the role of professional ethics regarding collections?