About the Community
Established: 2013
Last renewed: 2021
Contact:
Camille Westmont (vcwestmont@gmail.com)
Francesca Benetti (francescabenetti@live.it)
The Public Archaeology Community draws upon the experience of the Working Group in Public Archaeology, which had formed during the 19th Annual Meeting in Pilsen in 2013. The Community seeks to provide an international network for public archaeology that is transversal across the discipline given the increased interest in and importance of collaborating with various publics.
The aims of the Public Archaeology Community are:
- to establish a network of professionals working in public archaeology as a basis to enhance communication and expand the group;
- to raise the profile of Public Archaeology within the EAA by organizing sessions related to public archaeology during Annual Meetings and by participating with public archaeology papers in other sessions;
- to do political lobbying as a way to highlight the need to include clear policies in favour of public archaeology as we observe the tendency to make legal changes across Europe which would result in the lack of public participation;
- to create a platform that advocates for and assists people to start working in Public Archaeology;
- to have theoretical debates in sessions, (co-)organized by the Public Archaeology Community, while using the Community meetings primarily for organizational issues;
- to be a resource for sharing best practices and innovative experiences in Public and Community Archaeology;to discuss methodological standards in order to facilitate comparisons between case studies, especially across Europe;
- to act as a platform to share information about ongoing projects, especially in Europe. Many projects across Europe seek to address similar challenges, but unfortunately often do not collaborate. Therefore, the Public Archaeology Community aims to help by creating synergies between them;
- to coordinate with other EAA Communities. As we acknowledge the interdisciplinary nature of Public Archaeology, collaborating with other Communities will be essential to promoting shared policies and practices.