Using Participation and Empathy to Inspire Positive Change: A Transcontinental Conversation

Abstract

ABSTRACT In recent years, museums have recognized the urgent need to address several challenging issues. These topics include gender equality, racism, and environmental issues, just to name a few. As museums embrace the role of community-building change-makers, how can we include our audiences in the mission of making positive change? How can our scholarship, facts, and histories inform our audience’s understanding of the present? More importantly, how can we empower them to activate their understanding and change their behavior in order to create a better future? In a dialogue between Eva Rossmanith, a German museum educator and Julie Garner, a theater specialist from the U.S., we offer best practices in using participation and empathy to engage the museum public in fact-based dialogue about challenging topics. With an inclusive approach to content, we can encourage civil discourse and give people the tools to change their behavior and facilitate positive change.