National Hedgerow Week 2026
National Hedgerow Week is a partnership between Teagasc and the Heritage Council. The week aims to raise awareness of the importance of hedgerows for biodiversity, farming, climate and heritage.
The Shared Island GLAM Programme is a five-year all-island initiative led by the Heritage Council and delivered in partnership with the Irish Museums Association.
The Shared Island GLAM Programme supports all-island collaboration across the cultural heritage sector and is funded through the Government of Ireland's Shared Island Initiative.
Funded through the Shared Island initiative, the programme aims to strengthen collaboration, visibility and public engagement across not-for-profit galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAM) in Ireland and Northern Ireland, while supporting a deeper understanding of shared cultural heritage.
Through collaborative project funding, professional development and networking opportunities, mentorship and exchange programmes, and an annual GLAM Awards programme from 2027, the initiative will strengthen relationships across the GLAM sector, encourage knowledge-sharing and innovation, recognise excellence, and help build a stronger and more connected cultural heritage sector across the island.
The GLAM Programme forms part of the Heritage Council’s wider programme of Shared Island initiatives, which also includes the Shared Island Heritage Networks Programme and an annual all-island conference for heritage professionals.
The programme comprises five strands. Further information on each strand is provided below.
GLAM Project Funding
A collaborative project funding strand designed to support eligible GLAM organisations in Ireland and Northern Ireland to develop and test new ideas and approaches to public engagement, co-creation and all-island collaboration.
The funding aims to support innovative partnership projects that strengthen relationships across the GLAM sector and encourage new ways of engaging communities with shared cultural heritage.
Projects supported through the strand may include prototype exhibitions, oral history or community collecting projects, digital storytelling initiatives, collaborative curatorial experiments and other forms of public-facing cultural heritage activity connected to collections.
Applications for the pilot funding are now closed.
Full details, including eligibility criteria, live information sessions, and the application process, can be accessed via the Irish Museum Associations website.
Please also see the information booklet below.
Application deadline: 5pm, 3 September 2026.
Information Sessions
To support prospective applicants, the Irish Museums Association hosted two online information sessions via Zoom.
You can watch back the session via the IMA website.
Please see the FAQs document below.
Training and Workshops
A programme of training, workshops and shared learning opportunities designed to support professional development, capacity building and knowledge-sharing across the GLAM sector. The strand will address a range of topics and transferable skills, including inclusive curating, conflict sensitivity, colonial legacies and community engagement, alongside other practical and professional topics relevant to the sector.
Delivered through a mixture of in-person and online events across Ireland and Northern Ireland, the strand will also support the joint development of tools and resources, and provide regular networking opportunities for practitioners in galleries, libraries, archives and museums, helping to support a more connected GLAM sector across the island.
Registration is now open for the following: Delivered by the Irish Museums Association, the theme for the GLAM Programme Training Programme is Shared Authority in Practice, with this initial year of the programme explores Foundations – Participation and Exclusion, asking: What is social inclusion in our sector? Who’s missing, and why? How do we know?
This suite of free training opportunities will bring together a group of practitioners from the not-for-profit collection-focused GLAM sector in Ireland and Northern Ireland for an interactive and applied online training programme on the theme of Shared Authority in Practice.
The programme comprises four online training sessions delivered from November to December 2026. While participation in the complete programme will give participants a wider benefit and learning in this thematic area, each of the sessions can work as a standalone training activity. This training is provided free of charge.
Registration and eligibility details can be found at Registration open: Shared Island GLAM Training & Workshops - Irish Museums Association.
For further information, please see the guidance document below:
Shared Island GLAM Programme Training and Workshops Guide.
Application deadline is Friday, 30th October 2026.
Mentorship and Exchanges
A programme of mentorship, exchange and peer-learning opportunities designed to strengthen relationships and knowledge-sharing across the GLAM sector. Through thematic study visits, short shadowing placements and annual professional exchange events, participants will be encouraged to step outside their own organisational context and learn directly from the practices and experiences of others.
The strand aims to support stronger all-island and cross-sector connections, encourage greater understanding of common issues and challenges, and help break down organisational, structural and geographical barriers across the GLAM sector in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Expressions of interest for the Shared Island GLAM Programme first Study Visit (Belfast) are now open.
Study Visits will bring together a small group of practitioners from eligible galleries, libraries, archives and museums in Ireland and Northern Ireland to participate in two-day focused programmes of site visits, discussion, and shared learning in the neighbouring jurisdiction.
This call for expressions of interest relates specifically to the first Study Visit. Further Study Visits will be announced separately, including opportunities specifically for applicants from eligible organisations in Northern Ireland.
Expressions of interest close on 30 September 2026.
Full details, including eligibility criteria, information session details and the application process, can be accessed via the Irish Museums Association website.
The Irish Museum Association are also hosting an information session on the 22nd September (from 15:00 to 15:45) introducing the forthcoming Study Visit to Belfast.
For further information, please see the guidance document below.
GLAM Fellowship Programme
A fellowship programme intended to support leadership development and longer-term professional exchange within the GLAM sector. The strand is intended to include fellowship placements and secondment opportunities that support participants to develop and embed transferable approaches that can be adopted by institutions beyond placements. The fellowship strand is currently in an early stage of development, with further details to be agreed as the wider programme evolves.
This programme strand is currently in development. Further details will be announced in due course.
GLAM Awards
An annual awards initiative, beginning in 2027, which will recognise and celebrate excellence, innovation and collaboration across the GLAM sector. The awards will shine a light on strong and innovative practice and create a focal point for the wider Shared Island GLAM Programme. It is intended that the awards will help raise the profile of the sector, encourage professional development and participation, and strengthen visibility of the valuable work taking place across galleries, libraries, archives and museums in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
This programme strand is currently in development. Further details will be announced in due course.
The Shared Island GLAM Programme supports all-island collaboration across the cultural heritage sector and is funded through the Government of Ireland's Shared Island Initiative.
