PCTO – Paths for Cross-curricular Skills and Orientation

VIVE offers students in upper secondary schools the opportunity to participate in two PCTO (Pathways for Transversal Skills and Orientation) projects. These projects are focused on careers within the art and museum "system" and on museum communication in the digital world.

The PCTO "Art and museum professions" allows students to learn about VIVE's cultural heritage, explore museum roles and functions, and gain a better understanding of future career choices through a training and educational program based on dialogue, active participation, and hands-on experience. Students will be introduced to various professionals involved in the management of a museum and its collections. This includes roles such as the cultural manager, the curator, and the exhibition designer, a specialized professional who handles museum installations. They will also delve into the functions of the conservator, the cataloguer, the restorer, and the registrar—the person responsible for managing art loans within the museum administration. Additionally, the program examines the professionals who handle communication, from the press office to digital promotion, and public services, specifically in the field of art and cultural heritage education.In the final session, students will present what they have learned to their classmates, teachers, and the tutors and educators involved in the project.

The PCTO program "Communicating a Museum" involves students in an in-depth exploration of museum communication. Students get to know VIVE Institute through its official channels—the website and social media pages—to learn about the professional roles involved and experiment with communication strategies in a cultural context.
This program helps guide students' future career interests by developing new-generation digital skills for communicating culture through new media. The program begins with an introduction to VIVE, highlighting the complexity and historical layers of the institute, which includes the distinct heritage of Palazzo Venezia, Vittoriano and Museo Centrale del Risorgimento. Students delve into the functions of a museum, starting with the ICOM definition: "A museum is a permanent, non-profit institution in the service of society and its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates, and exhibits the tangible evidence of humanity and its environment for the purposes of study, education, and enjoyment."
Students analyze and compare the communication strategies of both Italian and international museums to extract key concepts they can apply to their own work. This is followed by practical sessions in VIVE's spaces, where students create textual content and photographic materials for their communication project. In the final meeting, the students present their work, explaining the process that led to their final result and justifying their choices.

The educational and training approach behind the PCTO programs, "Art and museum professions" and "Communicating a museum in the social media era," is designed as an open and multidirectional process. It's the result of the relationships among all participants, who together help build new ways of interpreting reality and society. In this context, cultural heritage and the museum environment that preserves and exhibits it are seen as "third spaces." These are places where students can directly experience and engage with different perspectives, languages, contexts, and viewpoints. They are also media-rich environments where students can practice understanding "the other," challenge their own assumptions, and find new tools for reading, re-elaborating, and communicating.

VIVE's PCTO programs aim to enhance students' interpersonal, communication, and professional skills. The goal is also to develop practical skills in independently managing assigned work, individually creating content, navigating a professional environment, and recognizing the role and functions of a museum.

Each PCTO program totals 20 hours and is structured into eight 2-hour, in-person meetings at VIVE with dedicated staff. An additional 4 hours of independent work allow students to process the learned content and prepare the final presentation for the last meeting. 
VIVE's PCTO programs are offered at no cost to students and are conducted in person, with a customized schedule for each school. If there are difficulties in completing the entire program at VIVE, it is possible to arrange for some sessions to be held remotely.

For information on the programs and to start a PCTO, please contact the educational team atvi-ve.edu@cultura.gov.it