The last two decades have seen concerns for equality, diversity, social justice and human rights move from the margins of museum thinking and practice, to the core. The arguments -- both moral and pragmatic -- for engaging diverse audiences, creating the conditions for more equitable access to museum resources, and opening up opportunities for participation, now enjoy considerable consensus in many parts of the world. A growing number of institutions are concerned to construct new narratives that represent a plurality of lived experiences, histories and identities which aim to nurture support for more progressive, ethically-informed ways of seeing and to actively inform contemporary public debates on often contested rights-related issues. At the same time it would be misleading to suggest an even and uncontested transition from the museum as an organisation that has been widely understood to marginalise, exclude and oppress to one which is wholly inclusive. Moreover, there are signs that momentum towards making museums more inclusive and equitable is slowing down or, in some contexts, reversing.Museums, Equality and Social Justice aims to reflect on and, crucially, to inform debates in museum research, policy and practice at this critical time. It brings together new research from academics and practitioners and insights from artists, activists, and commentators to explore the ways in which museums, galleries and heritage organisations are engaging with the fast-changing equalities terrain and the shifting politics of identity at global, national and local levels and to investigate their potential to contribute to more equitable, fair and just societies.

All across the globe people flee their homes in search of safety; in particular, we know that children move in great numbers. This book spotlights the experiences of these child refugees in modern British history for the first time. From Somalia and Syria to East London and the Isle of Bute, this book charts the experiences of children who migrated to Britain, sometimes accompanied by loved ones and other times completely alone, from 1930 to the present day. It explores their motivations, trials and achievements, and provides critical insight into how the British – both on an individual and collective level – have welcomed and shunned vulnerable refugees over the years. Most importantly, Eithne Nightingale links these rich stories of child migration from history with contemporary issues such as Britain’s Nationality and Borders Bill, Brexit and the European refugee crisis, making it vital reading for both historians of modern Britain and scholars of migration and human rights more broadly. Expertly situated in its historical and political context, Child Migrant Voices in Modern Britain is a carefully-curated and urgently-needed collection of oral histories from child refugees who arrived in Britain over the last 100 years.

The last two decades have seen concerns for equality, diversity, social justice and human rights move from the margins of museum thinking and practice, to the core. The arguments - both moral and pragmatic - for engaging diverse audiences, creating the conditions for more equitable access to museum resources, and opening up opportunities for participation, now enjoy considerable consensus in many parts of the world. A growing number of institutions are concerned to construct new narratives that represent a plurality of lived experiences, histories and identities which aim to nurture support for more progressive, ethically-informed ways of seeing and to actively inform contemporary public debates on often contested rights-related issues. At the same time it would be misleading to suggest an even and uncontested transition from the museum as an organisation that has been widely understood to marginalise, exclude and oppress to one which is wholly inclusive. Moreover, there are signs that momentum towards making museums more inclusive and equitable is slowing down or, in some contexts, reversing. Museums, Equality and Social Justice aims to reflect on and, crucially, to inform debates in museum research, policy and practice at this critical time. It brings together new research from academics and practitioners and insights from artists, activists, and commentators to explore the ways in which museums, galleries and heritage organisations are engaging with the fast-changing equalities terrain and the shifting politics of identity at global, national and local levels and to investigate their potential to contribute to more equitable, fair and just societies.

All across the globe people flee their homes in search of safety; in particular, we know that children move in great numbers. This book spotlights the experiences of these child refugees in modern British history for the first time. From Somalia and Syria to East London and the Isle of Bute, this book charts the experiences of children who migrated to Britain, sometimes accompanied by loved ones and other times completely alone, from 1930 to the present day. It explores their motivations, trials and achievements, and provides critical insight into how the British – both on an individual and collective level – have welcomed and shunned vulnerable refugees over the years. Most importantly, Eithne Nightingale links these rich stories of child migration from history with contemporary issues such as Britain’s Nationality and Borders Bill, Brexit and the European refugee crisis, making it vital reading for both historians of modern Britain and scholars of migration and human rights more broadly. Expertly situated in its historical and political context, Child Migrant Voices in Modern Britain is a carefully-curated and urgently-needed collection of oral histories from child refugees who arrived in Britain over the last 100 years.