PASt Explorers Volunteers Conference 2016. Save the Date and Call for Talks!

Posted on by Claire Costin

We are currently in the process of organising the forthcoming PASt Explorers Conference in partnership with National Museums Liverpool and would like to invite all PAS Volunteers (and FLOs) to get involved in the following:

What Do People Do All Day? The busy world of volunteers.

Thursday 29th September 2016, 10.00–16.30

Event Space and Lecture Theatre
Merseyside Maritime Museum
Free admission, advance booking required
Tea/coffee provided

The Portable Antiquities Scheme’s 2016 conference celebrates the contribution of volunteers to the PAS through PASt Explorers. Through the PASt Explorers Programme, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), more people are now volunteering with the PAS, undertaking finds-related work, and helping to share knowledge about archaeological finds.

This conference aims to illustrate the diverse nature of the volunteer experience within the PAS and provide the opportunity for volunteers to share these with others, providing inspiration and new perspectives on the contribution to the archaeological narrative.

We are looking for volunteers to speak at the forthcoming PASt Explorers conference in Liverpool in September.

Talks should be 20 minutes long and should cover the following:
• What you imagined it would be like to be a volunteer
• What you imagined you would be doing
• What you are working on, including any special projects
• What you like/dislike about the experience

We are aiming to cover as many different ways of volunteering as possible: in-house and remote volunteering, self-recording, finds recording, blog writing, photography, exhibition developing etc. To do this we would like to hear from lots of different types of volunteer – young, old, those bringing experience to share and those wanting to start out.

Please could you forward this invitation to all your volunteers and self-recorders. Reasonable travel expenses for volunteers and FLOs will be covered by the PASt Explorers project.

Please could any volunteers wishing to talk contact Claire Costin (ccostin@britishmuseum.org / 020 7323 8618) by 31st July 2016 with potential subjects. You just need an idea at this stage and we can provide help with shaping the talks.