The Manifesto provides a framework for all museums – whatever their history, scale, funding or model of governance – to reflect on their purpose and develop their practice. It is a tool to develop your work for greater social impact. The principles provide an active call to action, with real examples to inspire and strengthen your practice.
As well as informing your own professional practice, the Manifesto can be used as a resource to advocate for the value of learning and engagement. The research which led to the Manifesto found that, despite some areas of outstanding practice, learning and engagement was still marginalised as an activity in museums. For this reason, the Manifesto places learning and engagement at the heart of museums and can be used to support you in demonstrating the value of this work within your team, museum and the sector as a whole.
By using the Manifesto to reflect and plan for your own practice, you can become more confident in making the case for learning and engagement.
Through the following sections, we will look at each Manifesto principle in detail, to gain a greater understanding of how each principle can underpin your practice.