Speaker 1: Hello everyone and welcome. I still have this feeling that there is so much more that museums, heritage sites, cultural institutions could do to help raise awareness about important issues. Everything from climate change, environmental issues, to equality, humanitarian issues, racism etc. I know a lot of museums and heritage sites have done a lot to embrace those discussions in their interpretation, in their storytelling, in their projects, but I still feel like there is so much more that these organizations could do to actually be an active part, an active player in a lot of these discussions, because museums are brilliant places for discussions like these. And a lot of the time I also feel that part of the problem is that we don't always know where to start. Sometimes we feel like we should really embrace a massive change, but that's not always necessary and it's not always the case. So I found a case study or an example, if you like, from a small local community project. It's not part of a museum or heritage site, but I think it's a brilliant example of how awareness can be raised and there's a lot I think museums can learn from these small community projects when it comes to shining a light on important matters and really embracing a discussion about them. So let's dive into this and as always if you like the content of these videos please remember to like them and subscribe to the channel and add your comments below and please especially add any links or comments about projects you know about or maybe you've been part of, what they did, how you embraced raising awareness about important issues. The World Peace Garden in Campton was created as a charitable project to promote peace by challenging the way we look at the world. It's very close to Hampstead Heath actually and it's not very big, it's not a huge space, but it was created on this neglected wasteland where local traders, residents, visitors started to donate money to create this World Peace Garden and it's a wonderful little peaceful place where you can go and sit, you can have your lunch, you can bring your kids, you can just sit in a corner for a little while and enjoy the space and nature and there are these wonderful little hidden messages about peace and it's asking the question, what would contribute to world peace? So that's the question that visitors are being asked as they move their way through. It's also possible to volunteer if you want to help to clear the site and make it accessible and help to keep it and maintain it in good order and it's also possible to donate, especially in the form of these peace tiles where it's possible to sponsor a tile and you can put your own little message of peace on there, there are some examples here. It's also possible to sponsor for example a planted area or donate a plant or a tree and indeed to just help maintaining the area, that's of course easier if you live locally. All of these things creates a wonderful space that's actually being used by locals as well as by visitors and this brings us to a couple of things that I think museums, heritage sites especially, could actually implement and use very well in their own projects. First of all, when you are trying to raise awareness and you're using your interpretation to do so, have a clear message, have a clear purpose for what it is you're trying to do. So in this example it's about world peace and creating a message around peace. But have a clear purpose, what is it you're doing and what is it you have that you use to create this clear purpose. So create a space where it can be experienced. Sometimes it's not possible to have a physical space like a garden for example but it might also be an online space but arrange for a space where you can join, where you can join a group, where you can arrange for for example events to take place if that's possible. Have a space where people can go or log on. Be accessible, so allow people to use this on a daily basis and in their own time and as they see fit. I know for example in the World Peace Garden Camden you can go and just sit if you like, lots of people do and just enjoy their lunch sandwich. But you can also use it with friends, there are lots of events there, I know musical events for example, singing music being played, also chess competition taking place and stuff like that. There are many little corners where you can sit, where you can play if you like, where you can sit and read, whatever you want to do. Offer volunteer options, this is also something that the World Peace Garden is really good at, not just in terms of maintaining and looking after the garden but also raising awareness around this very important message and having a really open approach to both the locals and also visitors. Make donations and support really really easy, so make sure that it's easy to contribute here. So this is really an opportunity of sharing a message of peace in whatever way you see peace and it's also a way of being part of a discussion and adding your own point of view, your own experiences to a discussion that's ongoing. And this is really one of the things that's worth considering as well when trying to raise awareness, how do you keep the discussion going as well? Is this an issue that will continue to be an issue, continue to be part of a public discussion for a long time? And if so, how can you make sure that you keep your part of the discussion updated and relevant? I feel museums and heritage sites, cultural institutions and so on can do a lot more to help raise awareness by simply by joining a discussion and by creating spaces, either physical or online virtual visual spaces also, where people can contribute and be part of the discussion. Now I would really love to hear how you have gone about this and if you know of any examples that where museums, heritage sites and so on have used their interpretation to raise awareness and to join in a discussion of contemporary matter or contemporary issue or problem maybe even, it would be really, really great to see. So please do add below.