The call for proposals for MCN 2025 is open now until Monday, June 9.
We invite proposals highlighting innovation, emerging work, and critical themes in museum technology. Proposals are being accepted for:
Read on to learn more about session types and requirements, as well as the proposal review process. All presenters are expected to abide by the presenters’ guidelines. For questions about the call for proposals process, please email [email protected].
Conference Theme
Resilience and Resonance
Museum professionals working in the digital space continually face challenges coming from multiple directions: advocating for digital as an integral component of visitor engagement; embracing rapid developments in AI while maintaining the role of human expertise; championing the cultural sector at large in an increasingly complex social landscape. The community has faced these challenges in the past and will continue to face them for years to come.
Visitors likewise look to our institutions to provide spaces—in-person and digital—for learning and inspiration in the face of change.
Though uncertainties continue to loom large, how can we remain strong, focused, and motivated through internal and external forces? How do we continue to be sources of inspiration through the thickest of noise? How can we come together to support the needs of our audiences?
With every challenge comes an opportunity to emerge with critical learnings to help shape future approaches.
Consider the following as you develop your proposals for the 2025 MCN annual conference:
- How might we responsibly and ethically use data insights to support the needs of our communities?
- What role should digital systems play in preserving at-risk data and scholarship?
- How do we protect intellectual property as general access to generative AI models continues to rise?
- Where might we leverage unique relationships between museums and school curricula to develop critical interpretive resources?
- What strategies are you using to meaningfully include visitors of all types in the design of exhibitions, websites, or interactives?
- How is your IT team supporting experimentation without overextending core capacity?
- What frameworks guide your content decisions when addressing contentious cultural topics?
- What is the role that digital can play in creating strategies for institutional resilience?
We are accepting proposals for the following session types:
- 45-minute sessions
- 15-minute case studies
- Ignite talks (five-minute, fast-paced presentations)
15-minute Sessions
15-minute sessions are best suited for case studies, curated lighting talks, quick AMAs, and more. Program co-chairs reserve the right to group 15-minute sessions based on shared topics, format, and/or panelists. We recommend no more than three presenters in a 15-minute session.
45-Minute Sessions
45-minute sessions can accommodate panels, professional forums, hands-on demonstrations, and other longer-form topics.
Submission requirements
Proposals for 15- and 45-minute sessions must include the following information:
- Abstract: Describe the topic your session will address, the overall structure, and the types of activities you will use to engage attendees.
- Target Audience: Identify your session’s intended audience(s).
- Learning Objectives: Tell us what attendees will take away by participating in your session.
- Equity and Inclusion: Share how your session promotes a diversity of perspectives, backgrounds, and voices in museum technology.
- Co-Presenters: Provide the name, affiliation, and contact information of all co-presenters included in your session.
Ignite Talks
Ignite has kicked off each MCN conference since 2012. These five-minute presentations are energizing and inventive, thought-provoking and fast-paced—and we mean fast. Presenters run through 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds!
Watch the MCN 2024 Ignite Presentations
This year’s Ignite reception will be held on the evening of Monday, October 20. All speakers must participate in preparation calls through the summer and a rehearsal before the reception.
Submission Requirements
Your Ignite proposal must include your title and description. For the description, keep it short and sweet. You have 500 characters or fewer to pitch us your talk
Reviewing Proposals
Every proposal will be reviewed by the program co-chairs and a committee of volunteer proposal reviewers who bring a variety of expertise to the process.
Together, they’ll evaluate proposals based on the following criteria:
- Session purpose: proposed topic and learning outcomes
- Relevance: relation to MCN’s mission, contemporary conversations in the museum sector, and more
- Diversity, inclusion, and access: the extent to which the session makes space for underrepresented voices in the GLAM sector
- Potential impact: the session’s contribution(s) to the conference and sector overall
- Facilitation: presenters’ ability to lead the session and promote discussion at the conference
- Format: a clear strategy for an engaging and informative presentation.