We Are the Champions:  Making the Case for Your Collections, Programs, and Profession

Maine Archives & Museums 2015 Fall Conference & Annual Meeting

Lewiston-Auburn College, University of Southern Maine, Lewiston |  Friday, October 2, 2015

Call for Proposals

  Deadline: June 5, 2015

Submit a Proposal Online

All of us who work for and volunteer at collecting institutions engage almost daily in the work of advocacy: promoting our collections and programs to stakeholders and new audiences, explaining to potential funders what vital services we provide to our communities, and working with our elected representatives on issues that impact our institutions and the populations we serve. MAM members are key advocates for collecting institutions in the state of Maine—We are the champions of Maine’s museums and archives!

This year’s MAM conference will focus on the many shapes advocacy takes in Maine’s collecting institutions, celebrating what we do well and seeking ways to do better. What are some ways you have advocated for your institution, or for collecting institutions writ large, in recent years? When it comes to legislation, how do you navigate the political arena? What has been an especially effective way you have championed your collections or programs? What does it mean to be an advocate for Maine’s museums and archives? How do we advocate for ourselves, our positions, and our careers?

The 2015 MAM conference will offer a mixture of sessions, workshops, networking opportunities, and a dynamic keynote address that will leave you feeling recharged, connected, and inspired with new ideas to assist you in the care and management of your collecting institution.

MAM is seeking qualified presenters to submit session proposals that fit this theme and advance MAM’s mission to support and promote Maine’s collecting institutions.  Session proposals will be considered in the following formats:

• Panel Sessions—One hour and fifteen minute session block with two or more presenters discussing a topic that can inform or inspire participants in their work.
• Workshops—One hour and fifteen minute block with one or more presenters offering hands-on opportunities for skill building.
• Poster Exhibits—Display material presenting a project or exhibit that your institution would like to share with a larger audience that has relevance to the field at large.

The Program Committee seeks proposals that will inspire organizations of various sizes and disciplines and are especially visionary.  Case studies will be considered, but proposals that are clearly more applicable to the field at large will have priority.  Topics may include but are not limited to:

• Attracting new volunteers, trustees and members
• Working with legislators and local governments
• Case statements and other fundraising appeals
• Effective marketing initiatives
• Grant-writing
• Youth initiatives
• Innovative educational or interpretive programming
• Career Enrichment & Professional Development

For more information or to submit a session proposal, please complete the attached form and e-mail it with resumes for all speakers to info@mainemuseums.org or send it to PO Box 46, Cumberland Center, ME 04021. Proposals will be reviewed in early June and applicants will be notified by late June/early July about whether their proposal was accepted.