The full programme is now available for our International Heritage Symposium on 28th November at Nottingham Conference Centre! We are delighted to welcome three keynote speakers at the forefront of their fields, and to present an exciting range of heritage best practice and innovation.
Themed around the notion of discovery, our programme is designed to inspire and challenge educators, curators, and arts professionals, particularly those considering how to include the voices and perspectives of young people in their work. We welcome leading heritage organisations with an international profile, who will share the success of their education and heritage programming, and the creative methodologies they have used to attract and retain new audiences.
Our morning session starts with a first: the first time that Sara Blair-Manning, the new Director of the Nottingham Castle Trust, has shared her vision for the site, in a keynote intriguingly titled ‘Constantly Curious: Learning through Questions, Creativity and Castles’. Read more about Sara here.
Leading on from Sara’s keynote, there is the chance to learn from the intriguing and exciting insights of 6 heritage organisations in the first of our presentation Carousels, focused on creative ways of bringing literary pasts to life. In the terms of the Symposium title, these organisations demonstrate how they have made connections between ‘Our Past’ to tell ‘Our Stories’, engaging young people in shaping ‘Our Future’. Two sets of three presentations take place simultaneously in the Bowden Room and Hooley Room: delegates can mix and match. After a break for discussion, networking and coffee, the morning closes with a panel discussing the successes and challenges of our East Wood Comics project, funded by Arts Council England and Heritage Lottery Fund.
Our afternoon session kicks off with a keynote by award-winning educator Kate Clanchy, ‘We Come from Poems’, combining her creative pedagogy and practice around working with groups of children facing different challenges. You can find out more about Kate here. This theme is picked up across the afternoon as we hear from another 4 heritage organisations in our second presentation Carousel, and a panel co-hosted by the King Richard III Visitor Centre and Leicester Y-Heritage. Our third and final keynote is from Dhikshana Pering, Young People’s Producer for Brent 2020, whose keynote, ‘Youth: It’s on Their Side’ focuses on her experiences of placing young people at the centre of heritage projects.
Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature works to build a better world with words. This year, our Young City Reads Project has focused on embedding reading and writing for pleasure through our Young Ambassadors, Big City Read and MyVoice Creative Writing Competition programmes. So we are delighted that some of our 14 Young Ambassadors from 10 City schools will be joining us for the Symposium. We have placed them at the centre of the day, giving them opportunities to respond and present their views to delegates. Fittingly, they have the final word.
There are a few last minute bookings available, and you can book your place here. We are looking forward to seeing you for registration from 9am onwards, at the Nottingham Trent University Conference Centre, Burton Street, Nottingham.