Future Leaders Take To Skies After Scooping Award

Four successful winners of the Future Leaders Travel Bursaries Award will be jetting off to raise awareness of the UK's museums, libraries and archives sector with their peers overseas. The British Council in partnership with the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) have announced the winners of the 2006-2007 Future Leaders Travel Bursaries. The four successful applicants are:

"¢ Russell Allen, West Sussex Library Service, to attend the Elevations conference on networking and innovation in technology, at Aarhus, Denmark

"¢ Sarah Bayes, The Lightbox, to undertake research into marketing to European audiences, at the Museum of Modern Art in Vienna, Austria

"¢ Sarah Blackstock, the House of Culture, to attend the Transnational Olaudah Equiano conference at Owerri State University in Nigeria, to help build partnerships with African curators

"¢ Tabitha Witherick, North Somerset Council Library Service, to visit New York Public Library to learn about community engagement

The Future Leaders programme provides opportunities for aspiring leaders in the museums, libraries and archives sector to develop their leadership skills. The travel bursaries are designed to encourage those undertaking the MLA's Future Leaders programmes to develop a global awareness of their sector.

"MLA is pleased that our partnership with the British Council has resulted in this exciting addition to the development opportunities for future leaders participating on MLA's leadership programmes," said Chris Fardon, Senior Policy Advisor, Workforce, MLA.

The bursaries are jointly funded by the British Council and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, and are the product of a partnership agreement between the two organisations.

Jane Week, Museums, Libraries and Archives Advisor to the British Council, said: `We are delighted to be supporting these Future Leaders to develop their understanding of this sector.'

Past Future Leader bursary holders have visited Minneapolis Library and Harvard University, USA and the new Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, France. -- www.mla.gov.uk