IDEA 2008 will be a series of events focusing on technology and education. Events will include an Open Technical Forum focusing on the enabling technologies and infrastructures to forge a collaborative digital future for education and act as agents for positive change; IDEA Lab - an Interoperability Workshop focusing on recent technical developments relevant to Australian education; and the Australian finals of the IMS Global Learning Consortium Learning Impact Awards.

The Research School of Humanities ANU Public Culture Programme and the National Museum of Australia present this seminar which will be given by Peter Stanley.

Eminent US Art historians and Museum specialists Donald Preziosi and Claire Farago in conversation with Howard Morphy, Kylie Message and others will participate in a Roundtable discussion in this seminar presented by the Research School of Humanities ANU Public Culture Programme and the National Museum of Australia.

This conference theme is about tugging at the heartstrings - about finding new ways to connect the emotional with the rational to create more powerful visitor experiences. Participants will take away a wealth of new skills and knowledge that they can apply in their work.

Without artefacts our collections would be small indeed and without artefacts much of the information that researchers, publishers, the media and the public find most interesting about our collections would not exist. But will they continue to be important and will their collection, housing and preservation continue to be regarded as a benefit? If so, how do we know what we should be collecting? Is a digital equivalent the same as the real thing? These are some of the questions that will be asked and answered in this very enlightening seminar.

This two day conference will focus on the notion of collaboration while exploring relationships between curators and artists, the politics of identity and authorship, international and cross-cultural exchanges, and the challenges of collaborating from a distance. Featuring over 20 speakers, site visits and an evening function, make sure you don’t miss out on what promises to be a significant convention for both emerging and senior arts workers from around Australia.

This one-day Symposium will focus the theme ‘Frames: past, present and future’ as a means of exploring the history of framing styles; the legacies of past and current framing policies and treatment approaches; and the development and re-interpretation of the frame within the contemporary context.

Business continuity has evolved over the years, being influenced by a mixture of related components including disaster recovery (DR), contingency planning, crisis, risk and emergency management. This conference will allow you to hear practical case studies from exemplar organisations to provide you with the opportunity to understand how others have tackled BCM within their organisations.

The Museum Shops Association of Australia (MSAA) is a non-profit organisation with a volunteer executive. The Annual Conference is the only forum in Australia dedicated to issues relating to managing commercial operations in cultural institutions. Learn new things about the unique and challenging collections industry through enlightening sessions and connections with colleagues.

There is much talk of a building boom in South Australia but what of its impact on our cultural heritage and built environs. Is this a boon for South Australia, will it be to the cost of heritage and conservation, and how is this being addressed by heritage managers and others in the cultural sector?

The World Heritage concept has been cited by the directors of some of the world’s leading museums to support their retention of objects such as classical antiquities, overriding the claims of individual nations. Yet, the principles embodied in the UNESCO World Heritage program can also provide a counter-argument supporting calls for repatriation. What responsibilities does the concept of World Heritage place on the international community? What are the implications for museums and their functions in the 21st century?

The theme for the RMAA’s 25th International Convention 2008 ‘Adopting and Adapting’ is one that affects everyone working in the records and information industry regardless of their environment (eg Government, Private, Mining, Health, Not for Profit, etc). Presentations will discuss the ways in which records & information managers adopt new methodologies and processes as they adapt to new technologies in an effort to maintain their knowledge in a fast changing and dynamic environment and the challenges that face them in doing so.

This is a two-day workshop hosted by the Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Material (AICCM). It will be held in the Textile Conservation Laboratory of the National Gallery of Victoria. The first day will cover general principles of wet-cleaning, while the second day will cover more advanced topics in aqueous cleaning such as bleaching, enzymes, poultices and "spotting". The workshop will consist of morning lectures and afternoon practical sessions.

The field is abuzz with the term convergence - traditional boundaries are being questioned as libraries, archives, museums and galleries consider closer collaboration and a convergence of facilities. Margaret Birtley, CEO Collections Council of Australia, will address some of the issues connected with convergence as she paints a picture of the emerging trends in Australia, and their possible implications.

This information session, held in conjunction with the SA History Trust’s 17th State History Conference, is for anyone working in museums, galleries, historical societies, archives or other collecting organisations, large and small.

Most practitioners agree that the value of culture cannot be adequately expressed in terms of statistics. Audience numbers and gallery visitor profiles give a very impoverished picture of how culture enriches our communities. What is needed is a new way of reflecting, recognising and capturing the full range of values expressed through arts and culture and then using a new rhetoric to secure greater support for the sector. Recent overseas models have shown that specific valuation studies have been able to raise the profile of the cultural institutions and their services with key decision-makers by demonstrating the value of the sector to the state and national economy.