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Upcoming Event: The Conscience Un-Conference

BY Nancy Scola | Tuesday, October 6 2009

This, frankly, sounds like a neat event. The U.S. Holocaust Museum and George Mason University’s Center for History and New Media is assembling a one-day unconference on the topic of using social media to further the mission of "institutions of conscience." Particularly exciting is that The Conscience Un-Conference promises to be more than a new media pep rally. This event seems dedicated to acknowledging and confronting what can make online outreach and digital participation challenging, even painful in some circumstances:

Recently, museums and other educational institutions have embraced social media -- media that encourages multi-way communication and the building of networks -- to connect with their audiences. But, participating in social media raises a lot of questions that include concerns about balancing accessibility of collections with control; grappling with authoritative and personal voice; and measuring impact and outcomes. While these issues are of concern to many institutions, they need to be addressed with special tact by those who deal with sensitive subject matter and vulnerable populations, and who hold in trust the memories of victims of tyranny, human rights abuses, and genocide. This un-conference aims to hash out these concerns with people interested in these issues.

The conference will be held Saturday, December 5th in Washington DC, but space is limited and you have to apply for a free pass by a week from today.

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