Interested in promoting climate action in museums in Canada and abroad? Here are a few ways you can help the Coalition of Museums for Climate Justice to fulfil its mandate.
SUBSCRIBE
By joining our mailing list and following our blog and social media channels, stay informed of new blogs, upcoming events, new tools and articles on environmental sustainability and climate justice.
As part of our growing list of followers, you will join a community of like-minded professionals in the museum, cultural, and education fields, amongst others, who believe in the role of museums in securing a greener future for all.
PARTNERS
We are indebted to our colleagues from museums across the globe, as well as specialized consultants, which have engaged with us over the years, and continue to do so today.
Without their insight, knowledge and financial support, the Coalition would not have such a rich blog and valuable database to offer the museum sector. Contact us if you would like to explore collaborating with the Coalition towards climate action in museums. It could be sharing your perspective, an idea, a book review or a case study in the form of a blog post; create an online event, or work with us to advocate for new climate policy designed for museums.
Supporting partners
Projects & Resources Partners
SUBMIT AN ARTICLE
- “Greening” museums internally like alternate power, recycling/reuse projects, LEED certified buildings, and so on.
- Informing and mobilizing the public through exhibits, programs and events like climate change exhibits, science marches, public debates, citizen science, and so on.
- A story or case study should be about 800 words. We’re hoping a good story or case study will help other museums, galleries, historic sites, archives, science centres … of all shapes and sizes to mobilize and support Canadian museum workers and their organizations in building public awareness, mitigation and resilience in the face of climate change.
- A brief background of your museum or project – if information isn’t relevant to the subject matter, don’t include it.
- Practical elements of project, a brief overview of practical aspects like budgets/costs, and timing. Use bullet points if necessary.
- Shares problems encountered, failures and lessons. Compare intended outcomes/outputs with actual outcomes/outputs. Talk about future plans and projects – what you are going to do as a result of this exhibit/project.
- Highlight good practice and trends – focus on one area of work that is particularly innovative, new or successful, rather than trying to offer a broad overview in 500-800 words
- A good quality photograph and links to relevant websites, including social media accounts or reports and video clips. People love to see what you are doing.
- Name and job title of the person or group of people writing the story/case study and how people might contact you/them. You can be an inspiration to others!
- Good case studies are also good blog posts. See here for more general info on writing a blog post for the CMCJ.
BLOG GUIDELINES
Do you want to write for the CMCJ Blog? Please read the Guidelines below, and get writing!
1. Reposting
Writers are welcome to submit work that has been published elsewhere. However, attribution to the previous publication / website / medium / etc. must be given stating the publication, publishing date, and a link to the publication (if available).
2. Editing Disclaimer
The Advisory Group Members of the Coalition of Museums for Climate Justice reserve the right to edit any and all articles that are submitted to be posted on the Coalition’s website for the purposes of ensuring clarity, factual information, correct grammar, etc. By submitting an article for consideration, you are demonstrating that you are in agreement with this statement.
3. Posting Rights
The Advisory Group Members of the Coalition of Museums for Climate Justice reserve the right to refuse to publish any and all articles that are submitted to be posted on the Coalition’s website without cause or explanation. By submitting an article for consideration, you are demonstrating that you are in agreement with this statement.
4. Adherence to the Style Guide
For the sake of stylistic consistency, writers are kindly asked to adhere to the following Style Guide, which provides an outline for the expectations for articles published to the CMCJ website.
Anywhere from ~500 – 2,000 words (very flexible, depending on your topic & type of post)
Please send text (in MS Word) and images (in JPEG) in separate files with an indication in the body of your text as to where you would like the images placed.
Suggest 1 image for every 200 words; usually 3 – 4 images per post.
Image credit and a suggested caption for each image must be provided
No GIFs, please
Provide links to embed in text for relevant content, museum websites, supporting data, outside context, etc. (This can help keep your word count down as directing someone to a museum’s website rather than spending 50 words explaining what it is can be a lifesaver)
Suggested title – best kept to t 4 to 7 words (Able to fit on 1 line on the website)
Please include a brief 2 or 3 sentence bio along with a ‘head shot’ photo for each writer.
5. Adherence to Coalition Themes
Writers are kindly asked to adhere to themes that advance the goals of the Coalition, which are to:
1. Help build internal awareness of climate change responses within the museum community
2. Support museums in strengthening public awareness and mitigation of climate change
3. Mobilize museums as participants and activists in public discourse on climate change.
4. Empower museums to lead by example by providing tools and resources to do so.
Case studies and stories are especially welcome. Click here for more details.
6. All Are Welcome
The Advisory Group Members of the Coalition of Museums for Climate Justice reserve the right to give publishing preference to content submitted by members of the Coalition of Museums for Climate Justice. However, it is not a requirement for writers who submit content to the Blog published on the CMCJ website to be members of the Coalition.
All those interested in the goals of the Coalition, as listed above, are welcome to submit content for consideration. By submitting an article for consideration, you are demonstrating that you are in agreement with this statement.
7. Sending Content
If you are in agreement with the guidelines listed above and have prepared a blog post, please email it to contact@cmcj.ca or use our Contact page to get in touch.
Many thanks to the Group of Ontario Emerging Museum Professionals for permission to use the format of their Blog Guidelines
VOLUNTEER
The Coalition welcomes volunteers from communities across Canada to join its small but mighty team towards maintaining and engaging with the following:
- Social media
- Database
- Communications Design
- Advisory Committee
If you are interested in getting involved, please send your resume and a short message describing your interest in the Coalition and its work at contact@cmcj.ca. We’ll answer as soon as possible – but bear in mind that we are volunteers too!