Coordinator: Wencke Maderbacher (chair.ceca[at]icom.museum)

Focus: Strengthens the field of museum education by sharing knowledge on training, fair contracts, inclusion, and visibility. Provides a platform for professional growth and advocacy.

Language: English.

Open to: All, via registration.

More information
Calender 2026-2027

 

About the coordinator

Wencke Maderbacher has been Chair of ICOM CECA since October 2025 and is a Board Member of ICOM Denmark.

She previously served two terms as ICOM CECA’s European Coordinator and as Conference Coordinator. Wencke Maderbacher is Head of Public Programs at Naturhistorisk Museum Aarhus, where she leads a department covering exhibitions, education and communication. From 2018 to 2026, she was Head of Education and Cultural Interaction at Moesgaard Museum. Wencke began her museum career in 2001 at the Technisches Museum Wien in Austria as a museum educator. From 2006 to 2016, she served as Deputy Head of the Education Department, developing extensive experience in museum education, professional development and audience engagement.

Description

The aim of the SIG for Professional Development of Museum Educators is to provide a platform for museum education experts to exchange knowledge and ideas on further education for museum professionals, with a view to improve the professional situation of museum mediators. Museum educators deserve stable contracts and fair payment, as well as acknowledgement of their works and profession inside and outside of the institution. The topics of our group are:

• Trainings & skills for museum educators
• Job description
• Fair contracts & payment for museum educators
• Inclusion & collaboration inside the institutions
• Visibility of our work outside the institution
• Organization & administration of educator teams
• Educators as networkers

Our group has already gained more than 200 experts from all around the world with a lively exchange. We are looking forward to welcoming more members to realize our goals for museum educators!

The meetings are hosted and moderated by Wencke. The format of the meetings requires either group discussions in the Zoom rooms and using interactive tools to share thoughts or meeting the guest to get a deeper view on a specific topic. This SIG has a “Chat in the house” role so no video recordings are shared after the meetings. The presentations can be shared if the presenter agrees on it.