As part of my involvement in the Kettering Foundation and Talloires Networks international collaborative research partnership into studying Regional Perspectives on University Civic Engagement, I along with my community partner Nghomes (Margaret Layden) was invited to participate in the Network's International Leaders conference “Live Engagement, Transform Lives” held in South Africa in December 2014.

Public museums and art galleries have been in existence for centuries, and have become ubiquitous features of national landscapes worldwide. In the United Kingdom (UK) there are an estimated 2000 such institutions, and over 250 in the Canadian province of Ontario alone.