I received an invitation to facilitate a workshop
at Ellesmere Port on “How can museums meet social needs?” I telephoned Peter and queried “have you got
the right person? I don”t know anything about museums.” His re-assurance
surely meant they could not get anyone else!
On arrival I was met by an ‘army’ of volunteers –
administration, catering, guiding. Some were dressed in period costume but they
all wore a smile. This wasn’t a museum it was a vibrant venue to bring history
alive. The noticeboard was full of events – “knit and natter” alongside the
“Youthy theatre” – bringing young and old together naturally.
The day was again a full packed agenda with a
variety of quality speakers but it was not about dusty relics it was about
people. How people had brought the museum to life and more importantly how it
had transformed peoples lives.
Time for my workshop – ½ hour to find the answer
but 29 minutes was spent discussing what we meant by social needs!!
The points raised were consolidated for the
feedback but a brief summary was 2 elements: people and story telling. The
museum holds so many stories about our past but which are relevant to our
future. We need people to tell that story, we need people to bring the story to
life, different people have different skills, different abilities but they can
all come together for different aspects – I learnt a new phrase of “job
slicing”.
The summing up included the comments of “giving
people a stake in Society – giving them value.”
Before I left I sneaked around the corner to see
the Royal Yacht. How appropriate that The Queens accomadation whilst she
toured some of the North East waterfronts, which demonstrate how the waterways
are breathing economic and social development into some of our more
disadvantaged towns and cities, should be moored here reinforcing our vision for
the future – people are important.
A tiring but rewarding day.
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