Africans used their collective memory, drawn from narratives about unfulfilled promises made by the government during World War I, to collectively refuse to volunteer to fight on the side of the Smuts' government. This demonstrates the significance of oral history in understanding present realities. I am delighted to observe that the presenters, including some of the learners, in this conference will be talking to some of OR's leadership values and qualities. For full story click here.
Author: ohadmin
Sydney Dance Rites
Indigenous societies are often referred to having an oral history, many stories and the knowledge within them, are told and maintained through dance and song. See full story here.
NASA’s Cassini Mission
In the predawn hours Friday, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft will make a suicide dive into Saturn’s atmosphere, vaporizing like a tiny meteor in the vast Saturnian sky. It will be a fiery end for a spacecraft built and flown by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory that has spent the last 13 years exploring the ringed planet and its many moons. For full story click here.
The Littlewell mob
The Littlewell mob in Western Australia’s mid-west are on the trail of realising a dream. Seven years after setting out to preserve the old Littlewell reserve where they and family members grew up, it is set to open as a heritage precinct and walking trail by the end of the year. The Littlewell reserve sits on the outskirts of Mingenew, a town nearly 400km north of Perth and about 100km south-east of the coastal city of Geraldton. A 500m walking trail that incorporates the reserve’s history and the stories of those who lived there could open before Christmas. For full story click here.
Veterans’ Film Festival
Veterans Film Festival. The Australian War Memorial. October 18-22, 2017. veteransfilmfestival.com. Veterans Film Festival director Tom Papas says, "We want to put the spotlight on stories about veterans, their families, first responders and the impact war has on society." For full story click here.
Telling Stories in Glenorchy
A new project, helmed by visual artists Sasha Huber and Petri Saarikko, celebrates this diversity and the community’s cohesion while preserving the rich tapestry of oral history and knowledge held by the elders of these cultures. For full story click here.
Virtual Reality Film “Collisions”
Senior Indigenous Curator Margo Neale says Collisions tells the largely forgotten story of the Maralinga nuclear tests by the British between 1956 and 1963, largely through the words of Indigenous elder Nyarri Nyarri Morgan, who was there when it happened. When kangaroos were killed by the blasts he and others thought the food was a gift from the gods, but eating the meat made them sick. It was his first contact with Western culture. For full story click here.
Orange Oral History Group
One of the best things about the Orange Oral History group is the diversity of the backgrounds of its members. We are a miscellaneous lot, both men and women, and together we stimulate our memories and our thoughts on all manner of things. This month our subject was shopping – what we bought, how we did it and where it was done. As usual the discussion drew forth a lot of interesting stories and much laughter. For full story click here.
Samuel Proctor Oral History Program
For its 50th anniversary, the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program is showing its highlight reel. Since 1967, the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program has collected nearly 7,500 interviews and transcribed more than 150,000 pages of history notes. The anniversary program, called “50 Years, 50 Faces,” is on the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program’s Facebook page. Free access to all of the program’s processed oral histories, videos, photographs, transcripts and more can be found online through their website. For full story, click here.
Some Oral History Basics
"How often has it been said, "I wish I had asked my mother/father/grandparents more questions before they died"? The memories that could have been recorded for posterity are lost. Wanting to emphasis the importance of oral history, Historic Saranac Lake hosted a special workshop to share the best way to achieve success." This article has some good basics, click here for more.