Reflective debate, radical transparency and trust in the museum.

This project came out of dialogue and debate based upon a shared moral and intellectual interest in furthering democratic engagement within the museum. The authors are all very busy and committed practitioners in museums, for whom finding the ‘thinking time’, let alone the writing time, to develop their analyses of this ground breaking practice was a serious challenge. This in itself underlines the central issue of the importance of time for reflective practice. I would like to praise them for the hard work they put into their papers, and through them, the participants who contributed their thoughts and ideas that so inspired these reflections. Of the 18 senior international peer reviewers from academic and museum practice who gave so generously of their time to help guide the authors through the labyrinth of issues and ideas they were offering up, I have nothing but respect and gratitude. Because of them, it has been a master class for all the practitioners involved.