GEM (Group for Education in Museums)
GEM is a charitable voluntary membership organisation over 65 years old, with 2,000 members across the globe, 90% of whom are professional museum and heritage educators working in the UK. GEM acts as “the voice for heritage learning”, championing excellence in heritage and cultural learning to improve the education, health and well-being of the public – of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. We do this by sharing best practice, expertise and knowledge through both international and regional networks, developing innovative learning projects to advance both non-formal education and sustainable development. Examples of our previous projects include: • BIS-funded Sounding Out Your Heritage project supporting informal adult learning for over-60s; • DCSF-funded Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) Quality Badge training; • a CyMAL-funded project supporting small heritage organisations in Wales to develop learning services. We also work in partnership with other organisations to contribute to important government agendas and in the cultural economy, such as: • involvement with the LOtC Heritage Sector Partnership and setting up the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom; • participating stakeholder in the development of HLF’s strategic framework and consulting on their Skills for the Future programme. We also publish several publications including a yearly journal, a series of case studies, and a monthly eNews, as well as producing a series of professional events. www.gem.org.uk
