Record Ratings for OpenCulture as Delegates Give Their Verdict
Delegates have rated the Collections Trust’s flagship event OpenCulture2013 a record 100% Good to Excellent. Overall attendance was significantly up on 2012 with almost 400 professionals from across the collections community involved in the conference, the Collections Trust Awards presentation, and a special pre-event MasterClass.
Those attending the conference and exhibition at the Kia Oval increased 15% on last year, while two-day delegate bookings rose almost 100%. More than 150 delegates and guests attended the conference reception and presentation of the CT Awards, while the pre-event NMDC Digital Strategies Meeting/Deron Burba MasterClass was strongly supported.
Overseas representation at OpenCulture increased this year with more than 16 countries represented and strong support from Scandinavia.
The annual SPECTRUM Community Meeting attracted keen interest, and for the first time it was streamed live on the web. A video of the meeting is now available on the Collections Link website.
During the event, the inaugural Securitas Security Seminar highlighted key issues for delegates seeking to protect their collections, and also celebrated the new partnership between Securitas and the Collections Trust.
A record number of exhibition stands were booked, including 15 of the 17 current SPECTRUM Partners. Suppliers’ demonstrations were supported by a Wikimedia UK Hub and a CT European Showcase, which highlighted the Collections Trust’s work in Europe managing €15 million of EC projects.
“This year’s OpenCulture stepped up a gear and there was a real buzz in the conference rooms and the exhibition”, says the Collections Trust’s Development Director John Woolley. “The social media aspect of the event was also a great success, with more than 2,200 tweets posted and the hashtag #OC13 trending for three hours on the first day and a further hour-and-a-half on the second.
“We are now reviewing all aspects of the event and putting plans in place for OpenCulture 2014, which will build on the success of the past two years”.
Photo © Amanda Clay: Merete Sanderhoff, Researcher at the Statens Museum for Kunst, The National Gallery of Denmark, discusses how the museum’s digitised assets have been opened up to public sharing and reuse during her presentation titled Small Measures - Great Impact at OpenCulture 2013.
