Nationwide museum and library development project launched to assist public education providing equal opportunities
2 February 2017 Szentendre – Dr. Péter Hoppál, secretary of state, Ministry for Human Capacities, Dr. Ibolya Bereczki, deputy director general, and Dr. Péter Fodor director general, Szabó Ervin Metropolitan Library introduced the project “Museum and library development for everyone” EFOP-3.3.3-VEKOP-16-2016-00001 at the press conference held in the Skanzen, Szentendre on Thursday.
Dr. Péter Hoppál shared with those present that the three-year project “Museum and library development for everyone” having started on 1st February is implemented by HUF 2 billion EU resource. The project assisting basic cultural service is realised within the Széchényi 2020 programme, with the consortium cooperation of the Hungarian Open Air Museum and the Szabó Ervin Metropolitan Library.
The “Museum and library development for everyone” assists museums and libraries by developing professional training, and helps these institutions join in formal and non-formal education, introduce services which help competence and skill based learning, and contribute to expanding cooperation between schools and cultural institutions.
Being the methodology development of the museum and library fields, the project’s overall objective is to contribute to the compensating feature of public education of disadvantaged groups, also to equal opportunities for quality education, and motivation to return to education. By achieving these aims, the number of drop-outs should reduce, the chances of disadvantaged groups on the labour market should improve, as well as social integration of the youth, and the number of those living in poverty and social exclusion should decrease.
The target group of the project is comprised of museum and library professionals, teachers, trainee teachers, and indirectly children studying in primary and secondary education as well as kindergarten children. Dr. Ibolya Bereczki, deputy director general of consortium leader Hungarian Open Air Museum, who is also professional leader of the project revealed the elements of the museum component of the project. She pointed out in her speech that the previous experience and commitment of the Skanzen and its Museum Education and Methodology Centre to the cooperation of museums and schools, and the successfully accomplished Museums for Everyone project (MMP) (2008-2014) guaranty that the project will be successfully implemented together by its consortium partner. The new project is implemented as a quality development of Museums for Everyone Programme on a higher level, complete fulfilment of the change of mindset already started. The development includes supporting vocational training with museum and creative industry tools, getting disadvantaged children to catch up at school, managing talent, supporting competence development with museum tools in order to reduce the number of early school leavers, making use of digitalised collections in education, formulating the criterion system of service oriented museums, utilizing volunteering and school community service within the museum, in addition to creating a proposal for introducing quality management system in the museum sphere.
The implementers of 20 model/pilot projects of 16 themes were selected in a way that the museums cover all the regions of the country, and all types of museums are represented. The dissemination of model projects within museum knowledge transfer will take place at national and international conferences, workshops through the network of 41 museum coordinators, in online and printed publications. With the aim of strengthening cultural basic services 10 different accredited training courses will be created (8 for museum professionals, 2 for teachers). The communication of the results of the project is served by a media campaign, and the www.muzeumifejlesztes.hu homepage. Further aims include merging the museum education data base (Museums a’la carte) into an international network, as well as making cooperation agreements with 150 museum institutions and involving several public education and higher education institutions and sensitising teachers, university lecturers and trainee teachers.
Dr. Péter Fodor, director general, Szabó Ervin Metropolitan Library (FSZEK) explained that the nation-wide library component of the project “Museum and library development for everyone” is implemented under the title of “My library” with the involvement of FSZEK, 19 county libraries, National Széchenyi Library, Library institute, National pedagogical Library and Museum, and professional organisations of the library field. Linking to the former TÁMOP, TIOP and current EFOP projects, the aim is the further development of the library system. New competence and skill developing library services are to be implemented in order to support the effectiveness of public education, and a nation-wide network of 40 consultants will be created. Avenues of development include the areas of reading culture, digital literacy, library using, and information search, as well as reading comprehension with special focus on digital reading, individual and community learning.
The programme provides possibilities for carrying out gap-filling basic research in the library field. Work groups will create packages of new methodology and model programmes, and 90 model programmes will be created by integrating best practices. The priorities of the project include the engagement of disadvantaged groups, reducing the number of school leavers without qualification, and ensuring equal opportunities. Special subprojects to compensate disadvantages, to help catch up of those left behind, and to manage talent are created to focus on these target groups. Creating and carrying out four accredited training courses aims to renew the library profession. The training courses will take place in the Education Centre of Szabó Ervin Metropolitan Library to be renovated as part of the project. Eighty conferences and workshops help the professional exchange of information. A nationwide campaign to promote libraries and reading is to be launched in the first quarter of 2019. The information data base is to be provided on a new portal www.azenkonyvtaram.hu, and series of methodology publications are expected to appear by the end of the project period. As the final episode of the press conference, the consortium partners ceremonially signed the Memorial Certificates, then Ferenc Farkas, from Szabó Ervin metropolitan Library, professional leader of the library component of the project briefly described in his presentation the “My library” project. Finally, the museum education staff of the Skanzen carried out a sensitising interactive museum education demonstration.
Interview requests and further press information:
Requests to interview Dr. Péter Hoppál: Ágnes Bálint:+36 30 942 8223
Requests to interview other participants of the press conference: +36 30 655 2534
More information: muzeumeskonyvtar2020@gmail.com, www.muzeumeskonyvtar
