VoCh – Volunteers for Cultural Heritage was a European project, funded by the European Commission Brussels as part of the Grundtvig lifelong learning programme. The project began in November 2007 and finished in October 2009. The project started out by acknowledging the importance of volunteering as a positive act of citizenship and the increasing significance of volunteers for preserving cultural heritage, promoting access to heritage and collections and, in many instances, running cultural institutions such as museums. Its main activities and outputs were: * Europe-wide research on volunteers in the cultural heritage sector * Identification of good practice case studies * Design, development and delivery of training schemes for volunteers and volunteer coordinators * Development and publication of guidelines for good practice when working with volunteers Adele Finley will present an overview of the research and its results before moving on to discuss the main trends and issues which emerged. She will explore the themes of participation, active citizenship and audience development by drawing on good practice case studies identified during the project.

1. VoCH Volunteers for Cultural Heritage: a partnership perspective on current trends and future challenges Adele Finley Project Partner Manchester Museum

2. ‘ Heritage Hubs’

4. Volunteers and Volunteering