Reimagining Heritage, Archives & Museums: Today/Tomorrow Mentorship Programme

Reimagining Heritage, Archives and Museums: Today/Tomorrow is a new project that consists of three components, namely an international convening being held in Cape Town from 13 – 15 February 2024, a series of professional meetings in Johannesburg and Pretoria following the convening, and a parallel mentorship programme.

The mentorship programme is a tailor-made skills-sharing and development programme that will include virtual learning and in-person sessions to provide a platform for new voices to expand their knowledge and build networks. These sessions will be shaped around the convening themes and will aim to provide on-the-ground experience in curating and coordinating a convening. Mentees will have the opportunity to attend the convening and participate in the professional meetings.

Successful applicants will enjoy the opportunity to expand their knowledge and grow their network, with the support of some of the most prominent figures in the heritage, archive and museum sectors in Southern Africa and France.

Objectives

• Foster dialogue and enhance cooperation: Promote and facilitate dialogue between leading cultural professionals from Southern Africa and France, and more broadly between stakeholders from Africa and Europe, promoting cooperation, and accelerating exchanges that could advance the field.
• Facilitate transdisciplinary knowledge exchange: Mapping of heritage, archive and museum institutions needs and fostering knowledge production and exchange among experts, scholars, educators, artists, performers, community and spiritual leaders, civil society organisations, collectors, urban and rural developers, designers, members of the public and more. This knowledge exchange will take the form of written content and research and will inform future cooperation projects and live on the IQOQO platform as a resource beyond the conference.
• Promote cooperation and develop international relations: Foster relationships and synergies between African and European cultural professionals and organisations at the convening. The programming will encourage the exchange of expertise, the sharing of alternative practices (drawing from indigenous thought and knowledge systems as a source for solutions and innovation), and the formation of collaborative projects for the ongoing benefit of heritage, archives and museums.
• Co-create solutions-based recommendations and toolkits through a participative process throughout the convening, to be shaped further during the professional meetings that will take place immediately after the convening. Depending on the shape or format of these recommendations and toolkits, these will be adopted by relevant parties to take forward and apply in educational, professional, and civic settings.
• Consolidate support for training: This convening aims to encourage the development of networks and skills among professionals in the heritage, archive and museum industry. This includes inspiring emerging cultural professionals by providing growth and career development opportunities through mentoring and training programmes.
• Highlight and support women in cultural sectors, with a focus on heritage, archive and museum sectors.

Thematic Areas

• Four thematic areas currently being addressed in the heritage, archive and museum world that will shape the convening include:
  • Focus on the Public: How can museums and heritage institutions be more reflective, inclusive, responsive, visible, and accountable to the people they serve? How is inclusivity reflected in collections, staffing, partnerships, exhibitions, public programs, and marketing? What is the role of evaluation and impact assessments in the sector- what should be measuring?
  • Collections and Research: How can everyone better care for, document, research and manage the collections? How can collections (tangible and intangible) contribute to the uncovering, development, and application of indigenous knowledge? What is care within an African context? What are the challenges posed by imperatives of digitization? What new research is out there? What are under-valued yet important research areas? How can everyone make these collections better known and recognized in Africa and Europe.
  • Restitution: How to bridge the gap between African and European discourse and expectations when it comes to restitution? What are African responses to European policies and vice versa? What is the case for reparations? What are good examples of successful restitutions- where are the challenges? What is the status of and next steps for outstanding restitution requests.
  • Operational Sustainability: How can heritage institutions in Africa and Europe ensure adequate, sustained resources to fulfill their missions? Who are key stakeholders when it comes to the protection and celebration of heritage? What are the present and potential roles of the private and public sectors/ International donor agencies (state and non-state)/The Art market/the Tourism sector/ Universities/ Developers and so on? What are effective and innovative funding and operating models? What are optimal breakdowns of resources between operations, building management and programming? How can new technologies be used to improve operations and sustainability?

Benefits

• All travel and accommodation costs relating to the mentorship programme will be covered by the convening, and participants will receive a stipend.

Programme Highlights

• January virtual learning: A series of virtual knowledge-sharing sessions featuring a combination of live and recorded content and reading material will serve as the first learning opportunity.
• 13 – 15 February in-person learning intensive: During these three days in Cape Town, mentees will engage with the convening programmes, delegates, key tours and activities and participate in workshops with the mentors and invited participants.
• 19 -21 February professional meetings: Mentees will reconvene in person a week after the conference for three days of professional meetings in Johannesburg and Pretoria. They will engage in a programme of visits to cultural institutions and heritage sites and social gatherings with selected professionals.
• March virtual debrief and review sessions.

Eligibility Criteria

• You will be a suitable candidate if:
  • You are a citizen of South Africa, Lesotho or Malawi.
  • You have recently graduated/are at the start of your career in the heritage, archive, museum or cultural sector.
  • You are between the ages of 20 – 29.
  • You will be available to travel and attend the international convening in Cape Town from 13 – 18 February 2024, and attend the professional meetings in Johannesburg from 19 – 21 February 2024.
  • You will be available to attend virtual information, training and workshop sessions in January leading up the convening and in March.
  • You are working in or have a keen interest in the heritage, archive and museum sectors, and plan to make a career in one of these areas.
  • You have some experience in, or are interested in, writing. You will be asked to write content about the convening (e.g. reporting on specific panel discussions, or summarising the outcomes of a workshop) for publications like IQOQO, as well as for reports to partners and funders.

For more information, visit IFAS.