Amsterdam museum workers to better handle disabilities, tourists

An academy for training museum workers is launching in Amsterdam on Monday, April 11th. The academy will provide training to staff of the 44 museums in the city. The first lessons will be on hospitality, security, how to best approach hearing-impaired visitors and the latest tourism trends.

The Amsterdam Museum Academy is the initiative of the Foundation for Cooperating Amsterdam Museums. "The trainings are not mandatory, but we noticed that there is a demand. We hope to play on this need with the academy", Foundation director Bjorn Stenvers said to Het Parool.

According to Stenvers, experts from other industries are invited to give lessons. "Police Amsterdam, for example, will give tips for handling the public safely. We are planning to organize more training courses, so that we can be of service for all 2,600 museum employees in Amsterdam."

The Academy is funded partly by the museums themselves and partly by partners of the foundations. The lessons will be given in the participating museums.