British Museum: International Training Programme

Since 2006 The Barakat Trust has helped fund the place for a museum practitioner from the Islamic world to take part in The British Museum's International Training Programme (ITP). The ITP runs for six weeks over each summer and brings together a diverse group of practitioners from around the world to engage in workshops, training courses, presentations, and museum placements in London and around the UK. The impact of the ITP isn't restricted to the time that participants spend in the UK but also the global network that the programme has been able to build over the past 20 years: now reaching 393 fellows from 65 countries across the world. Fellows tend to be in the early stages of their careers or in positions of influence to help develop others.

The Barakat Trust specifically contributes to the place of a participant from the Islamic world according to its mission to protect and promote the cultural heritage of the Islamic world. Not only does this participant return to their home country and institution with greater training and connections but they also bring invaluable experience that benefits the rest of the programme’s cohort. We look forward to hearing about this year's Barakat Fellow and what they gained from the 2026 programme.