GEM Conference 2023 Bookings
At Chatham Historic Dockyard, Medway:
We look forward to welcoming many of you in Chatham, Medway. Chatham Historic Dockyard is a unique cultural site full of fascinating histories to unearth. It is also a home of the GEM office – we can’t wait to welcome you here and show you around.
You can choose to purchase individual day tickets to attend for a short time, or go all out and come along for the full conference experience!
All in-person attendees of GEM Conference will benefit from the full programme of sessions each day, and opportunities to network and share with colleagues from across the UK and beyond. If that wasn’t enough to entice you, we’ll also be providing lunch and regular refreshments for each day of conference that you attend.
Those who book to join us for all three days of GEM Conference 2023 will also receive recordings of the main conference sessions, to enjoy again at a later opportunity.
Please note that all conference ticket prices are exclusive of Eventbrite fees.
Travel and Accommodation
The GEM Conference 2023 will be hosted at the Historic Dockyard Chatham (Medway, Kent). You can easily get here from London, it takes only 40 minutes from St Pancras Station. Click here for more guidance on getting to the venue and check out the parking information.
Have a look at the list of hotels near the Conference venue.
| Hotel | Distance to the Conference venue |
| Travelodge Chatham Maritime | 5 min walk |
| Premier Inn Gillingham/Chatham | 5 min drive / 28 min walk |
| Travelodge Rochester | 10 min drive |
| Bridgewood Manor Hotel & Spa | 18 min drive |
| Ticket Type | Standard Rate | Early Bird Discount |
| GEM Members (One Day) | £145 | £131 |
| GEM Members (Full Conference) | £335 | £302 |
| Non-Members (One Day) | £195 | £176 |
| Non-Members (Full Conference) | £580 | £522 |
| Student/Unwaged (One Day) | £100 | £90 |
| Student/Unwaged (Full Conference) | £285 | £256 |
Online Only:
We will be providing a hybrid conference experience, with main sessions (keynotes, panel discussions and members’ presentations) live-streamed and recorded for participation with an online audience throughout all three days.
This online offer will seek to provide opportunities for connection, discussion and participation throughout the conference, with accessibility and inclusion at the forefront.
All Staff Institutional tickets are available for GEM Member organisations to purchase, for online-access only. This ticket enables an unlimited number of staff and volunteers from your organisation to attend as much of GEM Conference as they wish, at no extra cost.
| Ticket Type | Standard Rate | Early Bird Discount |
| GEM Members | £60 | £54 |
| Non-Members | £90 | £81 |
| Student/Unwaged | £50 | £45 |
| All Staff Institutional | £365 | £329 |
Payment by Invoice
We request that payments for GEM Conference tickets are made online via our Eventbrite portal. Under exceptional circumstances we are able to process a small number of payments by invoice, which must be arranged directly with the GEM Office. Please note that it could take up to five working days for the office to respond to your request.
Bursaries
At GEM we feel it is important to recognise that not everyone has equal access to careers and professional development opportunities in the museums and heritage sector. We’re also aware that for many in the sector, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought new challenges, financial difficulties, and in some cases redundancy.
GEM would like to offer a few bursary places for Conference 2023. We’d invite people who meet any of the following criteria, and would otherwise be unable to afford the cost of attending our conference, to apply for one of these limited spaces.
- Early career professionals
- Freelancers
- Those who identify as belonging to Black, Asian and other minority ethnic communities.
- Those who have experienced barriers to developing a career in museum education due to disability, LGBTQI+ identity, socio-economic background, caring responsibilities, or racial discrimination.
If you don’t meet any of this criteria but would still struggle to attend GEM Conference without a bursary place, please do apply anyway.
Please contact [email protected] with 200 words max explaining why a bursary place would benefit you.