UK Maritime Heritage Forum Conference 20th-22nd October 2026
Venue: The Historic Dockyard Chatham
The UK Maritime Heritage Forum this year will meet at The Historic Dockyard Chatham in Kent. The Historic Dockyard Chatham encompasses 80 acres of industrial and maritime heritage. The site has witnessed over 400 years of shipbuilding on the River Medway. The forum will be hosted by Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust (the Trust) which cares for over 70,000 objects, 48 ancient scheduled monuments and three historic warships. Since the closure of Chatham Dockyard in 1984 the Trust has worked hard to focus on community and learning whilst becoming a model for heritage preservation through re-use.
As ever, the forum is an opportunity to come together and reflect on those aspects of maritime heritage practice that connect us all whether we care for static collections or operating vessels, whether large museum or small volunteer team.
This year the forum invites innovative papers on the theme of ‘Challenges for the Future’. Topics could include:
- Changing audiences and programming challenges.
- Security and technology-developing technologies such as AI and increased risks in cyber security.
- Fundraising.
- Climate and the environment.
- A changing volunteer workforce.
- Preserving maritime heritage skills and the opportunities for apprenticeships.
Proposals
20-minute illustrated paper – these can provide either an overview of an issue or focus on a case study. Speakers are asked to provide a 20-minute illustrated presentation.
5-minute summary – an opportunity to share your news updates, ideas and experiences of change, presented as a short verbal update.
Poster session - display a flipchart-sized poster during conference breaks to share updates on something that you’re working on in an informal, friendly environment, and to talk one to one with other delegates about your project.
Proposals may come from within the maritime heritage community or from beyond. Insights and best practice from other sectors will be particularly welcomed. The UKHMF traditionally provides a platform for connecting a wide range of different voices, specialisms and organisations and the final conference programme will be structured accordingly.
The conference is an in-person event. There will be a limited number of sponsored spaces available for those contributing papers who cannot pay the conference fee. Please bear in mind that if your institution is able to pay conference fees this will make a huge difference to our ability to include others who may otherwise struggle to attend.
How to submit
Please submit a summary of your proposal in up to 300 words, or express interest in presenting a poster, by 12 noon on 29th May 2026 using this Microsoft Form link: UK Maritime Heritage Forum 2026 – Fill in form
Please state whether you wish to present for 5 or for 20 minutes. The final UKMHF programme will be released by the summer of 2026 with full information for speakers and delegates.
Zone South East