'Engaging with members who aren’t online' 

Hosted by Claire Corkill and Rachel Arbury 

Wednesday 17 March 

Over the course of the last year many local archaeology groups and societies have moved their activities online as the ongoing pandemic has made meeting in person impossible. While this has enabled groups to continue to deliver events and activities for many, there are also those who are not online and would still like to engage with the groups activities and connect with fellow members.  

How can you best support all of your members? From opportunities to help members feel confident participating online to creative ways of engaging offline there are lots of ways to get people involved and feeling connected.  

 This discussion session is a chance for participants to ask questions and share ideas and experiences to help groups and societies better engage with offline members during the pandemic and beyond.  

 Please register for the event here.

'From Find to Mind: Creative responses to archaeology' 

Hosted by Neil Redfern and Claire Corkill 

Wednesday 14 April 

This session is all about using creative approaches to broaden engagement and to inspire new and existing audiences. Moving beyond traditional approaches to archaeology can provide an opportunity to help people move from passive audience member to active participant, with opportunities to share thoughts, feelings, ideas and questions in a range of different ways. Using tools such as art and crafts, storytelling and poetry we can help people connect with archaeology and tell the stories of their places both past and present.   

 Introducing these methods doesn’t have to be costly or challenging, and including what may be a small creative element in your project can have big results. During this conversation there will be opportunities to ask questions and share your thoughts, ideas and experiences. 

'Attracting younger members – 30-45 year olds' 

Hosted by Jo Kirton and Rachel Arbury 

Wednesday 19 May 

 Following requests in previous sessions from groups looking to understand how they can attract younger members to join and participate, this session will discuss potential obstacles and ideas for developing engaging activities.  

'Using the Casework hub' 

Hosted by Catherine Bell and Alison Edwards 

Wednesday 16 June 

 The CBA have a statutory role within the planning system; we are consulted on applications for the partial or total demolition of listed buildings. This forms the basis of our casework. We co-ordinate a casework database of all the applications we are consulted on across England and Wales, on behalf of the national amenity societies. The casework database is publicly accessible online here.  

 If you are interested in seeing what Listed Building Consent applications are happening in your area, perhaps on behalf of a local history society, or regional CBA group, then we will be looking at how you could make use of the casework database. We will also explain a bit about the CBA’s archaeological approach towards listed building casework and our priorities for comment. 

'Welsh focus session' 

Hosted by Cy Griffiths and Helen Wilkinson 

Wednesday 14 July 

With support from the Welsh Government, the CBA in Wales has been talking to voluntary and community archaeology groups to find out what support they need to help them recover from the challenges posed by the pandemic. This session will report back on the findings of that research, outline the new resources we are developing, and give people involved in local groups the chance to share ideas and experiences.

Beginners guide to social media 

Hosted by Jo Kirton and Comms Manager 

Wednesday 18 August 

More information to follow soon.