23rd September 2009, 02:25 PM
OK.
It was a good session, and together with the 'Professionalism in Archaeology' session highlighted a few things.
Firstly we have it very lucky in the UK compared with many other countries. Particularly in places such as Hungary and Romania where even getting archaeology included in development projects is proving extremely difficult. If you thought losing 10% of archaeological jobs was bad, then look to Ireland where there has been a 46% reduction in archaeological jobs since 2007.
Secondly ACTION is happening. The idea of a new Europe-wide Institute for Archaeologists was mooted and recieved broad agreement... enabling common standards, ethics, and parity of accreditation to enable easier movement of labour and transfer of skills and expertise to help us all.
The recession is not over, and will affect different countries differently depending on the ways in which their archaeology is set up. In many ways those of us who follow the 'Anglo-Saxon' model are more fortunate than those who have state-run structures. There are pros and cons on both sides, but I came away with a genuine feeling that something very positive will emerge in the next 12 months which will benefit all of us.
I am not going to give a precis of events, but please ask a specific question and I will try and answer how the EAA meeting discussed it, what the mood was, and what the possible outcomes might be. (I know there is frustration about how slowly things move, but I do honestly think that things are moving for the better.)
And please don't shoot the messenger!
It was a good session, and together with the 'Professionalism in Archaeology' session highlighted a few things.
Firstly we have it very lucky in the UK compared with many other countries. Particularly in places such as Hungary and Romania where even getting archaeology included in development projects is proving extremely difficult. If you thought losing 10% of archaeological jobs was bad, then look to Ireland where there has been a 46% reduction in archaeological jobs since 2007.
Secondly ACTION is happening. The idea of a new Europe-wide Institute for Archaeologists was mooted and recieved broad agreement... enabling common standards, ethics, and parity of accreditation to enable easier movement of labour and transfer of skills and expertise to help us all.
The recession is not over, and will affect different countries differently depending on the ways in which their archaeology is set up. In many ways those of us who follow the 'Anglo-Saxon' model are more fortunate than those who have state-run structures. There are pros and cons on both sides, but I came away with a genuine feeling that something very positive will emerge in the next 12 months which will benefit all of us.
I am not going to give a precis of events, but please ask a specific question and I will try and answer how the EAA meeting discussed it, what the mood was, and what the possible outcomes might be. (I know there is frustration about how slowly things move, but I do honestly think that things are moving for the better.)
And please don't shoot the messenger!