Its the week of.

A museums handy guide to help you schedule your event programme

National Libraries Day: 2014 date tbc.

The culmina on of a week of celebra on in libraries across the UK. You can host an event, or just contribute to their forums and hash tag, #NLD14. www.na onallibrariesday.org.uk

LGBT History Month

LGBT History Month is about recognizing and celebra ng the history of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people. Anyone can get involved, and resources and contacts can be provided to help your museum. www.lgbthistorymonth.org.uk

An idea:

David Viney of Birmingham LGBT will talk about the Gay Birmingham Remembered Project and what life was like for lesbian, gay and bisexual people in Birmingham from the 1800s right up un l the 2000s.

Go Green Week
Go Green Week was created by People and Planet as a pla)orm for schools and universi es to raise awareness of green issues. Your local MDO will be working with Green Museum projects which can be integrated with local schools and universi es. www.peopleandplanet.org/ gogreenweek

Student Volunteering Week

Student Volunteering Week is organized by the NUS and Student Hubs and aims to highlight the benets of volunteering in any and all sectors. Your local MDO will be here to support you in nding and working with volunteers. Www.volunteering.org.uk/policy-andcampaigns/student-volunteering-week

International Womens Day

The 8th of March is Interna onal Womens Day. Around the world thousands of poli cal and cultural events are held in recogni on of women and to campaign for their rights. Your local MDO can connect you with events and help you to host your own. This years theme is The Gender Agenda: Gaining Momentum. www.interna onalwomensday.com

An idea:

At Swindon Museum and Art Gallery, Frances Bevan will give a talk exploring the story of Edith New, the Swindon schoolteacher who campaigned for women's rights with the surageAe movement. Edith is best known for breaking the windows of 10 Downing Street with fellow campaigner Mary Leigh, and received several jail terms for her involvement in protests and demonstra ons.

World Book Day

World Book Day is a huge celebra on of reading for young and old (though especially young). It is on the 7th of March. Your MDO can support you in crea ng partnerships with libraries, schools and other organisa ons to celebrate World Book Day. www.worldbookday.com

National Apprenticeship Week

Na onal Appren ceship Week is a week for celebra ng appren ceships and the posi ve impact they have on individuals and organisa ons. hAp:// www.appren ceships.org.uk/ Awards/

An idea:

BCTG in conjunc on with Telford & Wrekin Council are staging a ' Real Appren ce - Have a Go' careers showcase on the 19th March 2013 at The Telford, Whitehouse Hotel, 3.30pm-7.30pm This showcase is designed to help parents, carers and teenagers ask ques ons and learn more about Appren ceships. At the showcase you will meet the teams who help young people nd and stay in a job whilst training as an Appren ce.

National Science and Engineering Week

Na onal Science and Engineering week is about showing and celebra ng the role of science in our lives, and inspiring a future genera on of scien sts and engineers. hAp:// www.bri shscienceassocia on.org/ na onal-science-engineering-week

English Tourism Week

Following the success of English Tourism Week 2013, VisitEngland invites you to join a celebra on of Englands proud aArac ons and tourist industry with a week-long series of events. Your local MDO will help you join up with other tourist aArac ons in your area to plan an event. hAp://www.visitengland.org/ england-tourism-industry/etw/
Bodiam Castle held a Great Bake compe on invi ng visitors to enter their very own seasonal English cake, and Chatsworth House opened for the season with extensive restora on and seasonal displays to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics.

An idea:

Local and Community History Month

May is Local and Community History Month. The month is not only about the value of local history, but also about geMng communi es interested and involved in history in general. Events including trips, exhibi ons and lectures take place across the country. The Historical Associa on has a searchable database of events to which anyone can add. For further informa on about it, contact your MDO.

Museums At Night
Museums at Night, which is taking place from 16 18 May, is an annual UK-wide fes val which seeks to encourage visitors into museums, galleries and heritage sites by opening aLer hours and puMng on special evening events. The campaign is core funded by Arts Council England, with extra funding from Grants for the Arts to support the Connect10 compe on.

www.museumsatnight.wordpress.com

Give and Gain Day

Give & Gain Day, the 17th of May, is the UKs only national day of employee volunteering. It gives companies a unique opportunity to bring community action to life, whether theyre just starting out on the volunteering journey or a veteran. Your MDO is working across the county to collaborate with businesses and help your museum get involved.

http://www.bitc.org.uk/community/employee_volunteering/ give_gain_day/index.html

An idea:

Many regional museums such as Thinktank, Compton Verney and Shakespeare Birth Place are taking part with corporate volunteering. Excellent examples of corporate volunteering can be seen at Ironbridge Gorge Museum, who used a day of corporate volunteers to move their costume collection from one site to another.

International Museum Day

Interna onal Museum Day is the 18th of May this year. It is a day for museums around the world to put their interpreta on on a subject that concerns all cultural organisa ons. The moAo of the day is Museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, coopera on and peace among peoples. The theme for this year is Museums (Memory + Crea vity) = Social Change. To nd out more about the events around the world, go to www.hAp:// network.icom.museum/interna onal-museumday/

National Adult Learners Week

Na onal Adult Leaners week is taking place from the 18th to the 24th of May this year. It recognizes the value of lifelong learning, rewarding those who have made great achievements and encouraging others to aspire to the same. It also oers organisa ons a chance to display the learning opportuni es they can oer to adults. There are thousands of events taking place for this week across the UK. If you want to join in your MDO will give you guidance on how to do so.

National Family Week

Na onal Family Week is taking place from the 27th of May to the 2nd of June. It is a na onwide celebra on with over 6000 events taking place this year, and over 15000 taking place since it was founded in 2009. The organisers work with brand partners and nonprot organisa ons to create fantas c ways for families to spend me together. If this interests your museum, contact info@na onalfamilyweek.co.uk

Volunteers Week
Volunteers Week is run by Volunteering England, and is taking place from the 1st to the 7th of June this year. Volunteers are an important resource in this country; the economic value of their work has been es mated as up to 40 billion. Museums of course know all about this. The campaign is s ll taking shape, but if youre interested in encouraging, suppor ng or otherwise celebra ng volunteers, the website is www.volunteering.org.uk/policy-andcampaigns/volunteers-week.

EU Sustainable Energy Week

The EU Sustainable Energy Week is an ini a ve of the European Commission. Its moAo is One small step for you, one giant leap for Europe. The week is taking place from the 24th to the 28th of June this year. It showcases ac vi es and ideas about sustainable energy to make progress towards the EUs climate goals. Look out for the Sustainable Energy Europe Awards and the ManagEnergy Local Energy Ac on Awards which are now open for nomina ons. To nd out more, go to www.eusew.eu.

Armed Forces Day

The 29th of June is Armed Forces Day. It is an opportunity to show support for everyone who is or was involved in the Armed Forces, and to raise awareness of the contribu on they make to the na on. The website, armedforcesday.org.uk, oers resources, informa on and materials for anyone wishing to host an event for the celebra on. The main event this year will be in NoMngham.

Heritage Open Days

The famous Heritage Open Days will be back from the 12th15th of September this year. Places of Englands heritage will raise public awareness of their treasures with free open days for all. Last year over 1400 heritage sites opened across England, aArac ng over 1 million visitors. If you are not already involved, contact your MDO or aliate organisa ons such as Culture24 to nd out about it.

Ask A Curator Day

Ask A Curator Day was an event that took place on TwiAer on September 19th last year. Hundreds of users around the world logged on to pose ques ons to curators, such as How oLen do you have to explain what your job is? and Is it true people prefer digital images to objects these days?. As yet there is no conrmed date for Ask a Curator Day 2013, but watch this space, and this hashtag #askacurator.

British Food Fortnight

Bri sh Food Fortnight was created to be a agship event for bringing Bri sh produce to the na ons aAen on. The inten on of the week is to teach the na on about the health benets and joy of ea ng local and tradi onal food. This year Bri sh Food Fortnight will be from the 21st September6th of October. The website, www.lovebri shfood.co.uk is already burs ng with ideas of how to promote our na ons culinary prowess.

Black History Month

Black History Month is a cultural celebra on and remembrance of important people and events in the African diaspora. October was chosen to be the month back in 1987 par cularly to benet children star ng a new school year. There is no ocial body behind Black History Month but anyone and everyone can get involved. Online resources are available at www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk and www.black-history-month.co.uk. Talk to your MDO about resources and events you can put on to celebrate.

The Big Draw

October is the month of the Big Draw, an event organised by the Campaign for Drawing. Drawing is not only a tool for crea ve expression but also a way of drawing communi es together, as thousands of people around the country get together to create art. If you are interested in hos ng an event for the Big Draw, you can contact your MDO or go to www.campaignfordrawing.net/ for examples of events you can run.

International Day of Older Persons

The 1st of October will be the Interna onal Day of Older Persons, or UK Older Peoples Day. This year it is all about sharing experiences and skills between genera ons, which the UK is marking with the Big Skills Share. Sharing history is of course something museums specialize in! The Department for Work and Pensions has a site of resources and ideas for the day here at www.hAp://campaigns.dwp.gov.uk/ campaigns/olderpeoplesday/index.asp.

World Food Day

World Food Day is celebrated every year on the 16th of October in honour of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organisa on of the United Na ons. In Europe it has been very much a serious poli cal event, with symposia and conferences taking place across the con nent to address world hunger and malnutri on. It can of course also be an important teaching point for children. The theme of 2013 is Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutri on.

May 2013 ALL Local and Community History Month 17th Give and Gain Day 16th-18th Museums at Night 18th Interna onal Museum Day 18th-24th Na onal Adult Learners Week 27th-2nd June Na onal Family Week June 2013

1st-7th Volunteers Week 24th-28th EU Sustainable Energy Week 29th Armed Forces Day September 2013

12th-15th Heritage Open Days Date tbc. Ask A Curator Day 21st-6th October Bri sh Food Fortnight October 2013

ALL Black History Month ALL The Big Draw 1st UK Older Persons Day 16th World Food Day 18th Oct3rd Nov Family Arts Fes val

November 2013

22nd Childrens Takeover Day February 2014

ALL LGBT History Month 1st-8th Na onal Storytelling Week Date tbc. Na onal Libraries Day Date tbc. Go Green Week Student Volunteer Week

March 2014

6th World Book Day 8th Interna onal Womens Day 3rd-7th Na onal Appren ceship Week 14th-23rd Science and Engineering Week Dates tbc. English Tourism Week

Visit the Marches Network blog to nd contact details for your local MDO h3p://marchesnetwork.org.uk