THE ROBERT LOGAN AWARD WINNER 2005 - VIRGINIA MAYES-WRIGHT
Virginia Mayes-Wright, Museum Development Officer (MDO) for
Herefordshire and winner of the 2005 Robert Logan Award, has just returned from
speaking at the European Museum Advisors Conference in Budapest, Hungary. Virginia's trip to Hungary was supported with funding from the British
Association of Friends of Museums, Museums, Libraries and Archives West
Midlands, and the British Council, Hungary.
In April 2006
Virginia answered a call for papers to the European Museum Advisors Conference.
The European Museum Advisors Conference is a group of advisors from all over
Europe who meet every two years to share experiences and best practice and
discuss their different advisory systems.
The conference theme
this year was 'quality'. The topics covered included quality of
advisory systems, and quality and standards in the museums advised. The Keynote
Speaker, Director of the Hungarian Natural History Museum, opened the conference
with the wise words 'Inspectors are sent, advisors are asked for'.
Listening to presentations and visiting Hungarian museums has enabled Virginia
to gain new ideas and ways of achieving quality of advice.
Virginia's presentation highlighted the quality and
consistency of advice being achieved through the Museum Development Officer
Project in the West Midlands. Her presentation was heard with interest by the
delegates, and with other colleagues from the British Isles she informed the
other delegates about the changing picture of advice in England.
The conference programme included visits to several museums
including the 2005 Hungarian Museum of the Year, the 'House of
Terror'. These allowed Virginia to experience different ways of working
within museums.
The conference gave Virginia the chance to learn
about different ways that museums are organised, funded and governed in
different countries throughout Europe. She networked with international
colleagues, discussing issues as diverse as advice systems and registration
schemes. Virginia commented, 'The conference has really broadened
my mind through hearing European colleagues discussing different methods of
tackling similar problems.' |