Twenty Years of Connection and Impact
The North Africa and Middle East Science centers networks (NAMES) is proud to announce the 8th NAMES Conference, celebrating the network's 20th Anniversary.
Hosted by The Scientific Center Kuwait, 6-9 April 2026, this milestone event calls upon our community to look forward, reflecting on our shared history while pioneering new directions for engagement.
In a rapidly changing world, the role of science centers and museums as crucial hubs for dialogue, innovation, and community development has never been more vital.
The theme of NAMES 2026, Rethinking Engagement & Building Communities, recognizes that our greatest opportunity lies in moving beyond the physical walls of our institutions
to foster deep, authentic, and relevant connections with the audiences and communities we serve.
The NAMES Conference Program Committee (NCPC 2026) invites you to contribute your expertise, insights, and innovative projects to help shape the future of science engagement through
a program that is both regionally relevant and globally informed. This is your chance to share lessons learned, showcase impactful work, and collaborate on strategies that will define
the next two decades for science engagement in our region.
Do not miss the opportunity to contribute your voice to NAMES 2026 program and be a part of this significant 20th-anniversary celebration. Your expertise is crucial to developing
strategies that will strengthen our regional network and drive impactful community engagement.
Rethinking Engagement & Building Communities
Vision & Inspiration: Rethinking Engagement
- Exploring the latest tools and approaches to enhance engagement
- Showcasing best practices and successful case studies
- Sharing lessons learned from regional and international experiences
Practical Application: Building Communities
- Understanding the importance of community-building in science communication
- Addressing cultural contexts and their influence on engagement
- Leveraging technology to strengthen connections and outreach
Future Outlook: Paths Forward & Regional Collaborations
- Identifying opportunities for cross-institutional collaboration
- Developing strategies for building strong regional networks
- Harnessing technology to connect and sustain communities
- Strengthening financial sustainability and shared resource models to enhance institutional resilience and regional collaboration
Important dimensions the NCPC 2026 is looking to weave into the program include:
Museums as Hubs
Positioning our institutions as central platforms for innovation, dialogue, and cross-sector collaboration, convening schools, SMEs,
artisans, and universities around shared challenges (e.g., water reuse, green jobs, etc.).
Community Engagement in STEAM and Vocational Learning
Addressing the importance of equipping youth and broader communities in the region with future-ready skills through practical,
engaging, and locally relevant approaches. Applying new engagement playbooks such as co-creation, citizen science, maker culture,
and participatory collections.
Lifelong Learning
Reinforcing that learning is for everyone, regardless of age, and museums can be catalysts for continuous curiosity
and development throughout one’s life journey.
Regional Relevance
Ensuring that our initiatives reflect the unique cultural, social, and educational needs of our communities while maintaining an international outlook.
Telling science through local crafts, food, water, climate, astronomy heritage, etc.
Sustainability
Embracing environmental, social, and financial sustainability, ensuring science centers and museums resiliency, accessibility, and impact. Exploring
innovative funding models, partnerships, and income-generating approaches that balance mission and financial health. Designing learning for sustainability,
circular materials use in activities and exhibits, maker education and repair cafés, public engagement and environmental theme festivals.
Design for Belonging
Inclusive exhibits (UDL), multilingual/low-literacy strategies, sensory-friendly hours, trauma-informed practice, etc.