The Museum of British Colonialism and the East End Women’s Museum are part of a new group of emerging museums – organisations with an explicitly social justice mission. Join us in an exploration of these early results and emerging trends with a view of understanding the needs and priorities of these museums, both now and on the longer road to recovery. Sally Bacon, Executive Director, Clore Duffield Foundation, Kate Fellows, Head of Learning and Access, Leeds Museums and Galleries. Americo Castilla, president and founder of the TyPA Foundation from Argentina, organiser of Reimagining the Museum, the most influential Conference of the Americas; Walter Mignolo, writer, researcher and leading decolonial thinker; and Marilia Bonas, the director of the Museum of Portuguese Language and the Museum of Football in Brazil, discuss the future model of museums and the shape of things to come. In this session exploring how uncertainty can affect wellbeing, members of the Museums Association’s Workforce Covid Support group share some of the support that is available. In the closing session of the MA’s annual conference 2020 we hear reflections on the debate and conversations that have taken place, and consider what next for museums? Norma is a heritage creative who curates diverse exhibitions and heritage projects. What is feminist leadership? See the Conference 2020 programme An exciting line-up of sessions and keynotes. However, we don’t often recognise the power we have or how to use it to influence decision-makers to get what we want. As the sector responds to escalating demands to abolish, detox and reset around equalities, could feminist leadership play a paradigm-shifting role? Claire Browne, Programme Manager, Museum Development East Midlands and Chair of MDN, Eleanor McGrath, Head of Grants, Art Fund, Sarah Hartshorne, Programme Officer, Museum Development East Midlands. As Covid-19 is affecting the lives of the global population in unprecedented ways, museums around the world began to collect both physical and digital objects, and experiences of the pandemic. In an innovative new partnership, MDN and the Art Fund have distributed small grants to support the recovery of museums across the UK. The case studies are followed by a discussion focusing on the processes and ways of working necessary for constructive engagement. The session is facilitated by Fair Museum Jobs, FoHMuseums, Museum Wellness and Museum as Muck. Gillian Findlay, Curatorial and Engagement Manager, Museums & Galleries Edinburgh, Laura Pye, Director, National Museums Liverpool, Workforce Development Officer, Museums Association, Professor Emeritus in the School of Life Sciences at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, and a human rights activist, Head of Museums Archives Libraries Policy UK, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Collections Development Officer, Museums Association, Head of Cultural Services, Renfrewshire Leisure, Creative Development Manager, Glasgow Women’s Library, Director-General, Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, Museum Development Officer, South East Museum Development Programme, Director, The Hunterian, University of Glasgow, Head of Museums & Special Collections, University of Aberdeen, Museum Co-ordinator, Cynon Valley Museum Trust and FoHMuseums, Head of Engagement and Skills, Somerset House, Principal Curator, Crustacea, Natural History Museum, Head of Learning and Access, Leeds Museums and Galleries, Documentary Curator, London Transport Museum, Curatorial Manager, Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery Trust, interim head of museums and collections, Perth Culture, World Turned Upside Down: Exploring the Future of Museums, Power to the People self-assessment framework, Smithsonian leader Lonnie Bunch to speak at this year’s MA conference. The museum put a call-out on social media for participants to journal and document their lockdown experiences for the museum’s permanent collection, receiving more than 100 emails in the first 24 hours. He oversees 19 museums, 21 libraries, the National Zoo, numerous research centres, and several education units and centres. Ed Rodley, Experience Designer and Museum Professional.