Washington, DC, 5/7/2007 - The American Association of Museums (AAM) is pleased to announce a new partnership in cultural diplomacy with the US Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), called Museums & Community Collaborations Abroad (MCCA). MCCA is designed to strengthen connections between the people of the US and people abroad through museum-based exchanges. With its focus on reaching beyond museum walls to directly involve communities, MCCA leverages AAM’s experience helping museums connect with their audiences in new and vital ways. Exposing US communities to cultures they might not otherwise have the opportunity to learn about and sharing information about American culture with people abroad will be among the significant outcomes for this program.

The MCCA program has two primary goals:

•  For Communities:  Through innovative museum-based exchanges, awardees will identify stakeholders in the communities they serve and work to meet their needs while broadening cross-cultural understanding in each community.

•  For Museums:  Awardees will develop replicable models for international collaborations that reach beyond museum walls and directly involve the public.

MCCA allows museums to propose projects that reflect their institutional goals, unique collections, capabilities, audiences, and expertise.  Participants will integrate their communities into project activities through collaborations with local or tribal governments and schools, hosting community events, working with US Embassy-sponsored activities, and partnering with local print, radio, and television outlets.

“The lifelong learning and engagement inspired by museums knows no national boundaries. Museums help us understand each other, as well as ourselves, and in doing so allow us to explore the challenges of the future together,” said Ford W. Bell, president and CEO of the AAM. “This program will sustain dynamic international partnerships, strengthening American communities and communities abroad.”

Details about the Grant Process
MCCA museum participants create their own project structure and timeline. The partnerships will produce tangible outputs that engage their audiences and create models and practices that have the potential to be adopted by the larger museum field and other arts organizations.

MCCA grants will be offered in amounts between $50,000 and $100,000 with project activities involving travel for both US and non-US participants.  Three to five awards will be made in this inaugural cycle of the program.

Projects must be completed within fifteen months from the time funding is awarded.  The lead US museum acts as fiscal agent for the partnership and designates a staff member to serve as project manager.  This manager disburses funds to other participants as called for in the project budget and is responsible for filing quarterly narrative and financial progress reports as well as a final report.  Awardees will be required to identify a 50% direct or indirect match for all MCCA funds received.

Examples of projects which might be funded under this program include:

•  New or improved educational programs for under-served populations in each community
•  Exploration of the potential role of volunteers in managing museums, including community curation of exhibits and community-based interpretation
•  Museums as agents for cultural preservation and propagation
•  Museums as drivers of cultural tourism and sustainable development

Background and History
Beginning in 1998, AAM undertook a major strategic initiative called “Museums and Community.”  With support from the Ford Foundation, the Wallace Foundation, and the Nathan Cummings Foundation, “Museums and Community” gathered sound and current data and documented best practices by which museums can work in partnership with their communities, expand their civic engagement, and involve new and diverse audiences in their work.

MCCA seeks to extend the philosophy of “Museums and Community” beyond US borders by inviting museums abroad to partner with US peer institutions to create new models for community-focused international partnerships.  Through a robust application and partner-matching process, MCCA will provide museums with both a framework for initiating international collaboration as well as proven tools for engaging communities in a dialogue to direct partnership activities and project outputs.

MCCA also builds on a 25-year history of collaboration between Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and AAM on the International Partnerships Among Museums (IPAM) program.  During the program’s quarter-century history, IPAM linked museums in 38 states plus the District of Columbia with museums in 84 countries in all regions of the world.

Additional information is online at www.aam-us.org/mcca. Application materials will be available May 11.

Museums interested in applying may also visit the Knowledge Center during the AAM Annual Meeting in Chicago, May 13–17, to speak with an AAM International Programs staff member.

About the American Association of Museums
The American Association of Museums has been bringing museums together since 1906, helping to develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and providing advocacy on issues of concern to the entire museum community. With more than 15,000 individual, 3,000 institutional, and 300 corporate members, AAM is dedicated to ensuring that museums remain a vital part of the American landscape, connecting people with the greatest achievements of the human experience, past, present and future. For more information, visit www.aam-us.org.

About the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in the Department of State fosters mutual understanding between the United States and other countries through international exchanges and cultural programs. For more information about the activities of the ECA, see http://exchanges.state.gov/education/.

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