Welcome to GEM
GEM champions excellence in heritage learning to improve the education, health and well-being of the general public.
GEM believes that involvement with our rich and diverse heritage is an enriching and transformational experience that provides distinctive opportunities for learning. We aim to make that learning accessible, relevant and enjoyable for all.
19 April 2013
GEM's response to England's new draft curriculum
Many thanks to all those who sent in comments and responded to our survey. It was a terrific response which highlighted certain concerns but also showed how innovative and enthusiastic heritage educators are at delivering inspiring learning activities for children.
4 April 2013
GEM Conference 2013 - Leeds
People Power: Realising the potential of volunteers, communities and partners
The call for papers is now open!
We are looking for presenters to run breakout sessions and workshops at our annual international conference this year. We are also looking for members to propose case studies for the member presentation slots.
Download call for papers Download proposal form
22 March 2013
GEM Conference 2013 - Leeds
People Power: Realising the potential of volunteers, communities and partners
Find ways in which the heritage education sector can tap into the
potential of their most valuable resource: the people that live and learn
in, with and around their organisations, transforming them into partners in
learning – be it as a volunteer, a local community or an external partner.
Book your place now and save up to £155.
More details
GEM Bursaries 2013
Each year GEM awards bursaries for GEM members to explore an aspect of heritage education. A research bursary of up to £1,500 and a travel bursary of up to £1,000 may be applied for by GEM members for the year 2013.
Click here for more information and details of how to apply.
Applications have now closed for the 2013 bursaries
Forging New Agendas: The Sector in Dialogue
This conference was been organised by GEM in partnership with and sponsored by A New Direction (AND), the lead London bridge organisation.
09.30–16.00, Thursday 7 February 2013, London
As Arts Council England and the bridge organisations develop their new
roles, now is the time to begin an essential dialogue between heritage
sector professionals and these new structures to see how we can inform,
support and shape a successful shared future.
Delegates listened to the experiences of key players from A New Direction,
English Heritage, HLF and GEM and the wider education sector, and discussed
the construction of productive new agendas for effective partnerships
and funding models.
Would you like to be the voice of GEM online?
GEM is on the hunt for a GEM Social Media Volunteer (or two) to take charge of the GEM Twitter (@gem_heritage) along with the Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube accounts.
Would you be willing to volunteer around 7.5 hours of your
time a week to sharing relevant news stories and updates from GEM and the
wider heritage sector? Or maybe a smaller chunk? We’d love to hear from you.
If you think you might be interested, please contact Susannah Stevenson on
susannah@gem.org.uk or 01634 853424 and we’ll send you a detailed
description of what it would involve.
Applications closed on Sunday 27 January 2013.
In memoriam: Nico Halbertsma
It is with great sadness that I have to tell you of the sudden death of Nico Halbertsma.
Many of you will remember Nico as a former GEM trustee and a very active GEM member, a familiar face at conferences and meetings. Some of us had the opportunity to spend a memorable GEM study weekend with him in Amsterdam and The Hague.
Nico taught for many years at the Reinwardt Academy, part of Amsterdam University, and one of Europe’s leading museum studies departments. He was an inspirational teacher, a conscientious colleague and a great friend, with a wry sense of humour.
He will be cremated on Tuesday - please raise a glass of red wine in his memory.
John Reeve, former GEM Chair
Friday 14 December 2012
In preparation for the full re-design of the website which will introduce a members-only section as well as an open resources area, we have re-organised our existing web resources to make them more accessible.
Please click here to visit the new Resources section.
You can view a comprehensive list of the range of case studies, advice notes and all other resources here.
GEM curricula for dummies
Compiled by GEM members in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, this document offers a flavour of each national curriculum, including what may happen in the next five years and some implications for museums. Download the document as a PDF here (2.7MB).
GEM Conference 2012
Making the Case: the value of heritage education
4-6 September 2012, Exeter
The GEM 2012 conference in Exeter was a huge success, and GEM would like to thank everyone who took part and contributed.
Please click here to view some really helpful resources on Making the Case - everything from presentations, to blog posts to extra notes our speakers have sent in.
View the 2012 conference programme here .
GEM Yorkshire & Humberside: Learning with ACE conference resources
Thursday 29 November 2012, Doncaster Museum & Art Gallery
The GEM Yorkshire & Humberside Co-Convenors, Alex Woodall & Sue Mackay, would like to thank everyone who attended the conference and made it such a successful event. You can now download copies of the day's presentations, along with the Twitter stream and other resources from the dropbox folder by clicking here.
Also, if you had to leave early and weren't able to complete an evaluation form, please click here to download one and return it to Alex Woodall, alexwoodall@yahoo.co.uk, by Friday 7 December 2012.
Advertise in GEM's print publications
From November 2012, GEM is expanding the number of opportunities we offer for people to raise their profile and to advertise their goods and services to include print advertising and inserts. See the full information brochure here.
GEM Conference 2011
Reports of GEM's 2011 annual conference appeared in the
November 2011 edition
of the Journal of Education.
Read John Reeve's
impressions of conference
here.
Laying the foundations of heritage education training
John Stevenson, GEM's director, spoke at the ICOM-CECA conference, Zagreb, September 2011 about how GEM has been responding to changes across the heritage sector, and about GEM’s integrated approach to the training of heritage educators. He reflected on heritage education as a profession, and on what we as heritage educators do and how effective we are. He suggested that we needed more research into the effectiveness of the teaching which we do. Download a PDF of the talk (104KB)
Cultural learning is too valuable to lose
John Reeve, GEM Chair
This is not a whinge or special pleading at a time of savage cuts, but a wake-up call about cuts in funding to learning services in museums, galleries and heritage.
These appear to reflect a shift in attitudes to learning and a step
back to earlier assumptions about where learning belongs. Not only
are learning and outreach posts going, but whole departments and
teams. That is even before the full impact of the cuts is felt
nationally and locally.
Read more