FORMA MGLC

FORMA MGLC was a programme based on the use of new technologies, social media and innovative approaches in cultural institutions. The programme enabled young people specialising in the cultural sector to focus their professional profile on specific knowledge and skills to become familiar with the use of new media while gaining insight into the new and increasingly sought-after professional profiles: Community Management Coordinator and Digital Content Coordinator. The FORMA MGLC project was part of a programme aimed at young people funded by the Spanish Ministry of Labour and Social Security. Young Spaniards with different profiles participated in the programme, which ran from 16 March 2015 to 16 June 2015. The main objective of the programme was to facilitate their integration into the labour market by using new approaches that value creative talent and the ability to put knowledge into practice and innovation.

The FORMA MGLC programme was divided into several parts. Finding good practices for the inclusion of the new profiles linked to the Internet and the use of new technologies in cultural institutions played a crucial role. Within the project, we set up educational platforms and promoted the FORMA MGLC project itself through different channels. The interested public was invited to attend the educational lectures and the symposium as part of the programme.

THE CONTENTS OF THE FORMA MGLC PROGRAMME:

New professional profiles: Participants learned about the working environment of a museum in Ljubljana and the ways in which new media was being used at the International Centre of Graphic Arts. We learned that the position of MGLC within global communication, information transmission and cultural understanding is also changing through the use of new media.

Community Management Coordinator: Participants explored the meaning behind the Community Management Coordinator profile and researched good practices abroad. The theory acquired in the research was then put into practice in the local setting. Particular emphasis was placed on participants learning how to effectively build an online community for different target groups.

Digitisation: The preservation of documents in museums has been undergoing major changes due to digitisation – also with the aim of satisfying an increasingly demanding online audience. Searching for good practices, realising the need to introduce a specific professional profile for the management of digital archives intended for long-term use and introducing good practices of digital management in the local setting.

Digital media in museums: An insight into the importance of different digital tools (touchscreen tablets, mobile apps and other modern tools) that can be used to attract visitors and cultural professionals. Using innovative approaches and looking for solutions on how to use these approaches at MGLC.

Communication strategies in social media: Developing a rough framework for a communication strategy in the use of social networks and finding solutions for the successful implementation of digital media in the marketing and communication strategy of the institution.

Analysis of social media: Museums have a new role in global communication, information dissemination and cultural understanding. How to effectively measure the impact of social media was the question that participants tried to answer.

The positioning of cultural institutions, marketing: Branding basics in cultural institutions and learning that systematically building a brand leads to visitor trust, whose emotional connection also prompts further interactions.

“The programme emphasizes the traditional activities of MGLC in the field of non-formal education. Besides it being a platform for education and the ability to integrate young people into the workplace, its aim is to establish an intercultural space to develop creativity, an exchange of knowledge and new experience, which does not only enrich the participants, but also the institution.”
Yasmin Martín Vodopívec, FORMA MGLC Programme Leader and Assistant Director of MGLC

PARTICIPANTS:

Concha Martínez Peláez
Architect from Cadiz, Spain
"After getting my degree in Architecture I have recently started to attend a course on audiovisual communication. The latter is also the reason why the FORMA MGLC programme immediately attracted my attention. I am very much looking forward to these three months and I expect to learn an enormous amount. We are a young dynamic team and I am confident that we can pass a lot of knowledge on to each other."

Natalia Corbillón González
Industrial and graphic designer from Galicia, Spain
"I studied Industrial Design and got my degree in Germany at the so-called Folkwang Hochuschule. In 2011, I was an intern at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design of the University of Ljubljana; ever since then I have been a freelance artist in the graphic design field. When I first read about the FORMA MGLC programme, I was immediately attracted to it since graphic design has a tight connection with marketing and the social media. I am convinced that my “invisible backpack” will gain substance after this experience."

Javier Martin Arjona
Architect from Bilbao, Spain
"I studied Architecture in San Sebastian but came to Ljubljana on an Erasmus exchange for a year in between. After graduating, I also finished a course in graphic design in Bilbao. I moved to Slovenia in 2013; I work here as a teacher of Spanish. Now I look forward to the new opportunities within the FORMA MGLC programme, where I would like to pass on my knowledge – and learn as many new things as possible."

Damián Vega Velasco
Printmaker from Langreo, Spain
"I work with traditional printmaking techniques and am currently working on several creative projects that combine the more traditional disciplines with new technology. In relation to culture, I am very interested in the new, social media because I am certain that I could also make use of them within my profession. I am convinced that the new media can forge a new path in the promotion of the graphic arts and its many faces."

THE COORDINATORS OF THE PROGRAMME:

Aleš Ogorevc, Community Management Coordinator
"I manage the online community with the notion that social networks and service design can bring about positive changes to both, institutions and their visitors. I see my role of Community Management Coordinator at MGLC as an excellent opportunity to further consolidate and broaden my wide range of experience and knowledge. I believe that much can be done in this field to bring art closer to the public through the new media."

Sabina Vrhnjak, Digital Content Coordinator
"A journalist with several years of experience in the fields of journalism and PR and Event Organisation. The social media, the digital world and the growing number of new communication tools that foster the game of words, creativity and innovation have always been my passion. The FORMA MGLC programme, which combines my love of culture and the new media, represents a personal and professional challenge to me. The programme strengthens my belief that the new media require a special approach and additional knowledge from all those involved in this field within cultural institutions."

SYMPOSIUM:

With Slovenian and international guests, we wanted to reinforce the importance of new media in the field of culture and set guidelines for the transfer of knowledge into practice, so we organised an international symposium, The Impact of New Media: Daily Challenges for Cultural Institutions, which took place on 29 May 2015 in the Lecture Room of the International Centre of Graphic Arts. After four diverse lectures (Peter Šepetavc, David Gauntlett, Lenart J. Kučić, Rebeca Hermo; moderated by Domen Savič), we ended the day with a round table discussion and continued with the acquisition of new knowledge on 30 May 2015, when a workshop was held with Professor David Gauntlett from the University of Westminster, UK (author of the book Making is Connecting). By organising this symposium, MGLC wanted to highlight the importance of non-formal education, which enriches not only the individuals involved, but also the institutions in which they work and, indirectly, their audiences.

PROJECT TEAM:

Yasmin Martín Vodopívec (project manager), Aleš Ogorevc, Sabina Vrhnjak.