AIC Object Specialty Group Committee on Communications and Public Awareness

We are pleased to announce a new committee for outreach. The purpose
of the OSG Communications and Public Awareness Committee is to
inform the public about objects conservation and respond to their
inquiries. One way the committee will do this is by helping OSG
members to prepare for making oral presentations and submitting
articles for non-conservator audiences, including members of allied
professions. Another way is by helping AIC respond to inquiries
about objects conservation from individuals, organizations, and the
media (TV, radio, periodicals) and provide them with helpful
information. The OSG will keep AIC's Director of Communications and
the Internal Advisory Group (IAG) informed of the new committee's
plans as they evolve, in order to avoid duplicating similar efforts
within the AIC.

The new OSG committee's chair is Jean D. Portell, in Brooklyn, NY.
She seeks volunteers from other regions of the country to fill the
committee, especially people who have experience in communicating
conservation issues for non-conservator audiences. If you are
interested in helping this to become a successful endeavor, please
contact Jean at jeandp [at] aol__com.

Jean has already contacted the UKIC Public Relations Group to learn
about their outreach efforts. In addition, after discussion with OSG
officers, she has proposed a well articulated preliminary program to
be further defined after she assembles the full committee. The
proposed agenda includes:

    1.  Work with AIC's representatives to allied professional
        organizations and create additional liaisons if necessary,
        to promote awareness of objects conservation and foster
        communication. In order to ensure efficient communications
        between OSG and these groups, a committee member will be
        assigned to each AIC liaison and new contact made on behalf
        of OSG.

    2.  Establish a list of communication priorities (topics for
        clarification) for the general public and for the specialist
        public (i.e. curators, art historians, archaeologists,
        dealers, collectors), and create a summary of essential
        information for each topic

    3.  Identify outlets for disseminating information live (e.g.
        lectures, meetings, special events), and prepare a plan and
        timeline for each occasion

    4.  Working with AIC, prepare a range of materials that might be
        needed for a rapid public relations response. For example,
        the committee may want to quickly provide pertinent
        information following a natural disaster, accident,
        vandalism, or theft. Materials to have on hand might include
        templates of press releases that can be quickly updated and
        issued, stock photographs and video clips (along with proof
        of authorization to publish them), and a list of authorities
        who have agreed to be available to speak or be interviewed
        on short notice.

    5.  Recruit OSG members who would be willing to participate in
        the committee's work by presenting a lecture or writing an
        article. A committee member will be assigned to work with
        each volunteer contributor, offering encouragement and
        passing along the committee's advice about speaking to the
        public, writing for a proposed venue, etc..

    6.  Produce annual reports of the committee's activities, as
        well as summary updates when appropriate. These will be sent
        to the OSG chair, who will report them to the OSG
        membership, the AIC director of Communications, and the IAG.

Pat Griffin, OSG outgoing chair, and Dave Harvey, OSG incoming chair


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 16:74
                   Distributed: Tuesday, May 27, 2003
                       Message Id: cdl-16-74-010
                                  ***