Are you interested in pursuing a career in international heritage organisations? Do you know where to go for advice on this? What kinds of professional development advice would be useful for you? Do you have any specific questions that you want to be answered?
At WAC-8 in Kyoto, members of the WACSC will be running a forum session as part of the theme of Education: Learning and Unlearning. The session is titled, WACSC Forum on Careers in International Heritage and the abstract is copied below. We have invited a diverse range of knowledgeable panellists who will provide guidance based on their own experiences and will answer questions from students.
Abstract: The aim of this forum is to provide professional development advice for archaeology students interested in pursuing careers in international heritage organisations. The WAC Student Committee (WACSC) recognises that professional development is of immense value to students but that is often absent or informal at large international conferences like WAC, even though these environments provide a rare opportunity for students to access a wide-range of professionals. Furthermore, we consider it important in a globalised world that students receive advice not only on local/national archaeology careers, but also at the international level as the profession is becoming increasingly multidisciplinary and cross-cultural. This forum will fill both of these gaps. Our panellists will include a diverse range of professionals at various stages of their careers who will reflect on their experiences to provide advice and insights for future professionals who desire a career in government agencies, NGOs and international heritage organisations. The forum will be chaired by WACSC members and panellists will be open to questions and engage in discussion with the audience.
We invite archaeology students to suggest questions or topics that they want addressed by panellists in this forum. You can make your suggestions by joining the discussion on the WAC Student Forum on Facebook commenting on this blog post. Alternatively, you can tweet to us (@wacsc) or email! There will also be ample opportunity during the forum at WAC-8 to ask questions in-person. Students who cannot attend WAC-8 in-person can suggest questions and we will post the answers online for you!
Panellists will be announced soon!
Best regards from the organisers,
Marta Lorenzon, Kate Ellenberger, and Jacqueline Matthews