Annual Conference

The Alberta Museums Association (AMA) invites you to join us in Edmonton for our upcoming Annual Conference - As a Whole: Well-being, Health, and Museums - which will explore, contemplate, and champion the roles and actions museums take in providing, fostering, and embracing the health and well-being of individuals, institutions, and communities.

Society's understanding of being well is shifting from simply the lack of physical illness to a more holistic, community-wide form of wellness. Cultural activities, such as visiting museums or engaging with cultural heritage, are seen as essential to individual and societal well-being. As trusted places where meaningful connections are made, museums are undertaking initiatives that provide safe spaces for cultural dialogue, community interaction and growth, education, and innovation on issues of health and well-being.

Conference 2019 will feature two keynote presenters. Carol D. Ryff, PhD, Director of the Institute on Aging and Professor of Psychology at University of Wisconsin-Madison, will present a keynote talk to open the conference on Friday morning and return later in the day for a follow-up discussion. Professor Helen Chatterjee, Professor of Biology at University College London and co-founder of the Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance, will give the closing keynote presentation on Saturday morning and return in the afternoon for a follow-up session.

Conference sessions on Friday and Saturday will address how collections, programming, partnerships, and exhibitions that relate to healthy lifestyles, psychological well-being, and sustainability can broaden the museum's impact on their local community and internal teams. Delegates should come prepared to participate in smaller, more conversational breakout sessions.

Conference 2019 will also include a full-day Trade Show and reception with the exhibitors, as well as evening events on both Thursday and Friday. Thursday night's Opening Reception and Awards Ceremony at the TELUS World of Science - Edmonton will kick off the conference by celebrating the recipients of this year's Leadership Awards and the Robert R. Janes Award for Social Responsibility, along with graduates of the Certificate in Museum Studies Program. On Friday night, Conference delegates will join invitees from across the cultural and well-being sectors for a reception at the Royal Alberta Museum, with access to the galleries and short talks in the main lobby.

For more information regarding the AMA's Conference or other professional development opportunities, please contact Ben Fast, Program Lead, at bfast@museums.ab.ca or 780.424.2626.