MUSEUMS AND PUBLIC NETWORKS: Museums in the new learning society
The National Museum Directors’ Conference has commissioned a report to
promote the role of museums in the rapidly emerging digital environment.
The report during Museums Week 1999. The overall aim is to identify the
potential contribution that museums can make to the realisation of a
learning society by making digital resources available through cultural
networks. Within this broad aim the report has four specific objectives:
? to set out a vision of a digital world in which museums will be like means
not ends;
? to specify the contribution that can be made by museums to the development
of a learning society in the UK and to identify how museums can contribute
to creativity in education and in the creative economy;
? to specify what is required to develop and support digital museums on
cultural networks and to identify funding needs and potential sources;
? to set out an agenda for action.
The report will need to be succinct, attractive and persuasive. It will be
aimed at ministers and officials and at potential funding bodies. In order
to achieve the maximum impact the report needs to be published by mid May at
the latest
The report is intended to address these issues for the whole sector and is
being produced in conjunction with Museums and Galleries Commission. The
preparation of the report is being led by David Anderson (Head of Education
at the V&A) and Bruce Royan (CEO SCRAN) and managed by a small project team
including Louise Smith, Director of the MDA and David Dawson, New
Technologies Advisor to the MGC. A number of discussion groups have already
met to look at specific aspects of the report.
The Project Team would like to hear as wide a range of views as possible on
the proposed content of the report of which an initial draft outline is
available at: www.mda.org.uk/nmdc/
If you would like to comment on the draft outline, have information or
examples of ongoing projects which you think would be useful, or would like
more information you can:
? send an E-mail to the project team at: “[log in to unmask]”
? write to the project team care of National Museums Directors’ Conference,
Victoria and Albert Museum, London SW7 2RL
There will be a consultation meeting to discuss an outline for the report at
the Science Museum in London on 4 March 1999, at 12.15pm noon for 1.00pm.
If you would like to attend please contact Tom Wareham or Sophie Sutherland
on 0171 9389904/2 or send an e-mail to the above address. There will also be
some smaller focus groups outside London.
* * * * * * * *
David Dawson
New Technology Adviser
Museums and Galleries Commission
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