Join us for a deep, practice-based exploration of what meaningful youth co-production, youth engagement, partnership working, and inclusive programme design look like across different museum and cultural contexts. This study day will unpack the practical, emotional, and institutional dimensions of working meaningfully with underserved young people.

Building on six years leading the British Museum’s Where we are… programme, delivered with 24 partner organisations and resulting in 12 youth-led cultural projects, study day leader Hanouf Al-Alawi brings extensive practical experience of developing and sustaining co-production with young people. Her work explores how asset-based, trauma-informed and co-productive approaches can be adapted across different institutional cultures, partnerships and audiences.

Participants will explore:

• Institutional readiness: the cultural, structural, and operational conditions that enable youth co-production
• Equitable partnership working: building trust-based collaborations with youth-led charities, schools, local museums, and community organisations
• Designing safe, creative spaces: approaches to emotional, physical, and organisational safety for young people
• ED&I in practice: integrating inclusive language, representation, and decision-making into programme design and gallery content
• Iteration, experimentation & learning: navigating the joys, challenges, barriers, and breakthroughs of long-term collaborative work

Rather than presenting a polished “success story,” the day emphasises transparency, reflexivity, and learning. It invites participants to think critically about what equitable youth engagement truly demands from institutions and practitioners.

Who should attend:

Museum professionals, learning and engagement teams, curators, youth programme leads, educators, and anyone seeking to embed meaningful co-production within their practice.

Participants will gain:

• Practical tools for designing or strengthening youth co-production
• Strategies for building institutional readiness across departments and leadership
• Insights from multi-institutional experience across science, culture, and education
• Approaches for embedding ED&I throughout programme design and delivery
• Space for reflection, peer exchange, and shared problem-solving

Co-production with Young People: Collaboration, Experimentation & Iteration
Study Day, Tuesday 2 February 2027, Central London
Led by Hanouf Al-Alawi

About the Workshop Leader

Hanouf Al-Alawi is an international museum consultant specialising in interpretation, learning and audience engagement, with over 20 years’ experience across the UK and Middle East. She has worked across museums, heritage and cultural initiatives including the British Museum, Natural History Museum, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, UNESCO and Barker Langham. Her practice spans learning and participation, interpretation, co-creation, programme development and culturally responsive audience engagement. This multi-institutional background informs a holistic approach to co-production grounded in equity, care and audience-centred design.

Book Tickets

Click ‘Select options’ below to book your place on the study day. Tickets are available on a sliding scale from £137 – £177. Book with colleagues for multiple delegate discounts. Book your ticket online below or email info@museum-id.com if you prefer to be invoiced.

Want to join us for several study days? You can save with our 2027 Study Day Ticket Bundle.

20% of tickets are available at a reduced rate for museum workers who may often be excluded from training and professional development opportunities, including people of colour, LGBTQ+ members of staff, students, freelancers, and those working at small independent museums. Reduced rate tickets are £97 – email info@museum-id.com to check availability and to book a ticket at the reduced rate.

Tickets are non-refundable but may be swapped between colleagues at the same organisation and between different study days (if places are available). If the workshop is postponed, your ticket remains valid for the rescheduled date.