Collections Mobility 2.0: Lending for Europe - 21st century aims to facilitate the mobility of objects between museums in European member states. In order to do so, an innovative training courses has been developed. It provides a training package in order to introduce the most recent developments, best practices, concepts, standards and procedures on lending and borrowing of museum collections. Getting practical is the main aim of the project. 

Trainings are organised in Madrid, Antwerp and Budapest. These courses are open to professional delegates from each country. After the trainings each delegate can cascade the training programme to other professionals in their own country, using the training package that is being developed.

Meetings in Madrid (31 May -1 June 2010) and Antwerp (1-3 December 2010) were open for museum directors and policy makers from each Member State. In the third meeting in Budapest (23-25 February 2011) participants from all 27 Member States of the EU will be trained. The applications for the training in Budapest is still open. You can apply here.

The target groups in Budapest are professionals dealing directly with the administration of international loan of artworks as collection keepers, registrars etc. Addressed are:

1. Trainers: professionals dealing directly with the administration of international loan of artworks, teachers and professors in museology, museum studies and instructors in collections management issues who are willing to take upon them the role of 'trainer'. They are asked to cascade the knowledge acquired through the training programme further to the museum workers in their country by (co)organising trainings on the subject after February 2011. Priority will be given to candidates that are linked to a museum, cultural heritage association, or official body that can support his/her actions both on an organisational level and financially, for the sake of achieving the widest possible scope of national distribution. A feedback on the progression and the results of the national trainings will be asked for by September 2011.
2. Participants: professionals dealing directly with the administration of international loans of artworks: collection keepers, registrars, exhibition coordinators etc. who are interested in improving and promoting the topic of mobility of collections in practice. The organisers invite them to implement the best practice, concepts, standards and procedures on lending and borrowing as presented in the training into their own collection management practice and to promote these standards among their colleagues.

For the future Trainers and Participants (who will be chosen by a competition - See Call for Participants) - the programme will cover training fee, hotel (maximum three nights) and catering expenses. Travel costs are also covered for the Trainers.

Selection criteria of participants 

Concerning Trainers as well as Participants a Call for participants has been published requiring the following information:

• Professional CV
• Motivation letter
• Filled in Application Form
• For Trainers: short description about the future national training

Content of the training 

The training will be organised in four panels (4 subgroups each of 14 people). Each sub-group will be trained by two trainers. 4x2 trainers will deal with a key-issue and will teach this subject in turn to the 4 sub-groups. At the end of each panel, the trainers will give instructions and support on how the training program could be cascaded down during the national trainings.

Key topics: 

• A: Valuation, insurance, state indemnity and shared liability
• B: Immunity from seizure
• C: Long term loans, Collection research
• D: Simulation game: this section is about playing a simulation game, where one museum would like to borrow an object from another museum.

At the end of the training, at a plenary session all groups should present their result. This case is also an explicit exercise to build up trust. There would be 4 sorts of exercise, all focusing on a different problem, such as a very complex shipment, for instance, or a travelling exhibition.

National trainings will be organised in all Member States from February to September 2011.

If you would like to apply for the training in Budapest please click here.