MBE for Museum Dementia Champion

Carol Rogers becomes Member of the Order of British Empire.

A National Museums Liverpool employee who has worked to improve the lives of people with dementia has been awarded an MBE.

Carol Rogers leads National Museums Liverpool's multi-award-winning House of Memories programme which is making a difference to people living with dementia, their carers, families and communities.

House of Memories was set up in 2012 to connect the health and social care sector with National Museums Liverpool’s collections.

In line with National Dementia Strategy and Prime Minister's subsequent Challenge on Dementia 2012, the programme offers unique and innovative training to help people living with the condition.

To date, more that 7,000 carers have received the training and are putting their knowledge to work in communities across the country.

Carol, Executive Director Education and Visitors, said she was -"honoured" - to receive the award which is bestowed for significant achievement or outstanding service to the community.

Carol Rogers said:

Dr David Fleming, Director of National Museums Liverpool, said:

Prof Phil Redmond, Chairman, National Museums Liverpool, added:

For more information on National Museums Liverpool's House of Memories programme go to:www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/houseofmemories

In June 2014, the My House of Memories app was launched at the House of Commons and has been downloaded more than 2500 times. The app was created by National Museums Liverpool in association with Mi – More Independent. This unique and innovative free digital memory resource for IPads and other tablets, is the first of its kind in the world and has been co-created by people living with dementia and their carers. The app won the Innovate Dementia Award at the World Health and Design Forum 2014 and is also shortlisted for Best App at the Northern Digital Awards in February 2015.

Details of how to download the My House of Memories app on ITunes and Google Play can be found athttp://liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/app

Notes to Editors:

About National Museums Liverpool:

National Museums Liverpool comprises eight venues, including some of the most visited museums in England outside of London. Our collections are among the most important and varied in Europe and contain everything from Impressionist paintings and rare beetles to a lifejacket from the Titanic. We attract more than 2.7 million visitors every year. Our venues are the Museum of Liverpool, World Museum, the Walker Art Gallery, Merseyside Maritime Museum, International Slavery Museum, Border Force National Museum, Sudley House and the Lady Lever Art Gallery.

Carol Rogers:

Carol Rogers is responsible for the strategic planning and delivery of formal, informal and outreach education programmes across National Museums Liverpool.  She also oversees the delivery of Visitor Services, Development, Marketing and Communications, Information and Cleaning Services.

Carol joined National Museums Liverpool in 2003 as the Head of Learning. In 2005 her role was expanded to include responsibility for front-of-house services. Carol's profile is well known locally and she maintains an extensive communication network of lifelong learning providers and creative industry networks across Merseyside. She has strong regional and national links with public and voluntary sector education providers and organisations.

Prior to joining National Museums Liverpool, Carol was Education Director for the Liverpool Capital of Culture bid team. Carol lives in Wirral.

House of Memories:

House of Memories has been running at the Museum of Liverpool since 2012, working with people in the health and social care sector specifically with funding support from Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group’s Mi project.

To date, more than 7,000 care workers have taken part in the training, and more recently the programme has joined with a number of housing associations to empower their workforce, tenants, neighbourhoods and local communities to gain awareness of dementia and develop a deeper understanding of dementia.

In 2013 and 2014 the programme began expanding outside the Liverpool City Region with the help of the Department of Health (DoH). National Museums Liverpool has teamed up with health, social care and museum partners in the North of England and the Midlands to take the training into other cultural venues, demonstrating an innovative approach that is transferable to any town or city.

Museums are experts at recording and caring for people’s memories – whether they are thousands of years old or within‘living memory’. They enable people to explore and connect with their personal history and engage in relevant and meaningful cultural activity.

The root of the House of Memories training is to acknowledge and understand that an individual’s personal history and memory is of great value and significance.

House of Memories training:

House of Memories offers a tool-kit to participants, which is based on the fantastic objects, archives and stories that can be found in cultural venues across the country, such as the Museum of Liverpool. The training gives carers the skills to inform their practice and the resources to carry out memory activities in work settings, and improve the quality of life for the people living with dementia.

 House of Memories Awards:

• Winner of the Innovate Dementia Award at the World Health and Design Forum 2014, for the My House of Memories app

• Winner of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) regional Adult Learners’ Week Award 2014, in the Learning Life Skills category.

• Winner of the 2014 Museums & Heritage award for Best Educational Initiative

• Highly Commended in the 2014 Dementia Friends Awards in the National initiative category

• NHS Health Education North West Adult Learners’ Week Award 2013 project award in the category of 'Learning Together in Health and Social Care'

• House of Memories has been cited as an example of best practice in the Museums Association’s new vision for the impact of museums: Museums Change Lives

Mi – More Independent:

Mi (More Independent) is a Government-funded initiative that is being piloted across four UK regions. Liverpool has been chosen as one of the pilot areas. The Mi partnership is funded by the Technology Strategy Board, the UK’s innovation agency (https://connect.innovateuk.org/web/dallas), which finds ways to boost the UK economy through technological innovations.