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News and Events

Digital Badge stating Museum + Heritage Awards, Shortlisted 2025

Current News and Events

W-ICAD Facilitator Network online event (Sept 2025)

Join us for the second W-ICAD Facilitator Network online event.

This 1.5 hour online session is for everyone who has completed the W-ICAD training (online or in-person) before Thursday 18th September.

It will offer an opportunity to discuss your experiences with the W-ICAD training with the model creators. As well as providing an opportunity for you to learn from each other’s W-ICAD journeys. We want to hear all of your questions, concerns, and ideas.

Come along to receive and share practical advice on implementing and adapting the W-ICAD model to best suit your museum.

Book your free ticket

Museums + Heritage Awards ceremony

We were so honoured to attend the Museums + Heritage Awards ceremony last month after being shortlisted for the Sector Impact Award.

We were there thanks to the fantastic museums, heritage organisations and co-creators that we have had the pleasure to work with. Being shortlisted for the Sector Impact Award was recognition of the power and impact of co-creation, and the ways in which we can work towards richer inclusive museum experiences.

Although we didn’t win our category, it was wonderful to be able to loudly cheer when the brilliant Mykaell Riley and the British Library team deservedly won theirs!

Thanks to Hayley Bray for the amazing photos of our wonderful night!

The host of the Museum + Heritage Awards stands at a lectern on a stage. The Museum + Heritage Awards logo is on the wall behind herlt text: Deborah Husbands, Lindsay Bywood, Alison Eardley and Hannah Thompson are standing in front of a wall of logos. They are all dressed smartly for an awards show and smiling. Hannah is holding her white cane in one hand.

Previous News and Events

W-ICAD Facilitator Network online event (June 25)

Join us for the first W-ICAD Facilitator Network online event, at 3.30-4.30pm (UTC) 3rd June 2025.

For all those who have completed the W-ICAD training, we are setting up a W-ICAD facilitator Network to support you to build W-ICAD into your practice in your museum or heritage role.

This one-hour online session is particularly aimed at those who have completed the W-ICAD on-line training. You will have the opportunity to meet other professionals who are interested in implementing W-ICAD in their practice, and to the model creators. You will also have the space to discuss your experiences with the training, and any thoughts or questions you may have about that or implementing the model. We want to hear all of your questions, concerns, and ideas.

You can either bring your questions, thoughts or ideas on the day, or you can email them in advance to Charlotte Slark at c.slark@westminster.ac.uk

Book your free ticket now!

W-ICAD Facilitator Network logo

Museums + Heritage Awards

We are delighted to announce that W-ICAD has been shortlisted for the Sector Impact Award at the annual Museums + Heritage Awards!

The global awards celebrate the very best in the world of museums, galleries, and cultural and heritage visitor attractions. This year’s shortlist, which includes entrants from all over the United Kingdom as well as museums and other cultural organisations in 14 other countries ranging from Norway to Egypt and Australia, have been chosen by an independent panel of nine judges, who are all well-known in the museum world.

About being shortlisted, W-ICAD’s Dr Alison Eardley said: “It is an incredible honour to be shortlisted for the Museums + Heritage Sector Impact Award. W-ICAD challenges the way in which we understand blindness and the way in which we understand vision: it not only highlights the importance of blind and partially blind ways of experiencing museum collections, but also it scaffolds and enriches the experiences of sighted audiences. W-ICAD is underpinned by co-creation between blind, partially blind and sighted academics, museum partners, sector professionals and audiences. This nomination is recognition of the power and impact of co-creation, and the ways in which we can work towards richer inclusive museum experiences."

Alison, Lindsay, Hannah and Deborah will all be attending the ceremony to reveal the winners, which will take place on the evening of Thursday, May 15, 2025, at Hilton Park Lane, London.

W-ICAD Course launch event

We are pleased to announce an online launch event for the online W-⁠ICAD training course at 4-5pm GMT on 14th January 2025. ​

We will introduce the core principles of the W-⁠ICAD model, and the aims of the online training course, with opportunity for questions and discussion.

Please sign up to the launch event here.

Join us for the first W-ICAD Facilitator Network online event, at 3.30-4.30pm (UTC) 3rd June 2025.

For all those who have completed the W-ICAD training, we are setting up a W-ICAD facilitator Network to support you to build W-ICAD into your practice in your museum or heritage role.

This one-hour online session is particularly aimed at those who have completed the W-ICAD on-line training. You will have the opportunity to meet other professionals who are interested in implementing W-ICAD in their practice, and to the model creators. You will also have the space to discuss your experiences with the training, and any thoughts or questions you may have about that or implementing the model. We want to hear all of your questions, concerns, and ideas.

You can either bring your questions, thoughts or ideas on the day, or you can email them in advance to Charlotte Slark c.slark@westminster.ac.uk

Book your free ticket now!