In article <l03010d00afed9eaa7a5f@[194.154.100.240]>, Colin Hynson
<[log in to unmask]> writes
>I was wondering whether anybody on the Museum-L list may be able to help me.
>
>I am starting to do some work on how rural life/agricultural museums may
>help with the training and education of adults - particularly with the
>long-term unemployed or those interested in training for a career in the
>countryside.
>
>If there is anybody out there who works in an agricultural museum and has
>spent some time working with adults, then I would very much like to hear
>about it.
>

In Britain, I've experienced, and read about, various programmes which
have supplied to training for adults in museums (benefits to individuals
outside defined projects seem to be ignored).  There are, I believe,
three things which are fundamental to the success, or otherwise, of
projects.

Firstly: the commitment of the host organization.  Secondly, the target.
Thirdly, the people working on the project.

I encourage you to look at the goals of people coming onto the project:
only sometimes will this be employment, if it is, you need to look at
what employers want: if they want degrees in biological sciences, then
deal with that - only take people on with such degrees, or tell the
people up front, 'this is a programme to help you into a degree
programme'...  I've had programme entrants who have very low self
esteem, who wouln't have dreampt of volunteering, but have quicly found
that what they really want to be is a volunteer (i.e. they don't care
whether they get a job or not at the end, they don't care whether or not
they get a qualification, but what they do care about is that their time
is used by the museum to its benefit).

If you are serious about wanting to set up a project, I do encourage you
to look for European partners: EU funding goes outside Europe, in multi-
national partnerships.  The partnership _could_ work in this way: you
set up a 12 month scheme, whereby the penultimate month is spent in
(pulling countries out of the top of my head) Poland or Portugal.  Also,
you have students from Poland or Portugal, working with you for a month.
I know that many rural areas in the US have strong European links: where
are yours? - exploit them!

Do you have national bodies, or local bodies, which award qualifications
in this area?

I have found, personally, that the least-win situation is when someone
who felt they had nothing to offer the museum does valuable volunteer
work, and gains in self-esteems, in basic computer skills.  From there,
it's up.

Best wishes,
--
Pat Reynolds
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Keeper of Social History, Buckinghamshire County Museum
   "It might look a bit messy now, but just you come back in 500 years time"
   (T. Prattchet)