During the afternoon sessions, attendees shared experiences, questions, and insights in small groups on sub-themes of oral history. What challenges do they face? What support could they use? Based on these priority questions, we developed concrete actions for the learning network. Attention is paid to various types of heritage professionals (collection staff, community service staff, volunteers), from beginners to experienced practitioners.
There is a lot planned. Would you like to participate? For each meeting or activity, we're looking for one or more organizers to help us develop and organize the program. Interested? Questions? Suggestions? Please contact Jelena Dobbels (
Heritage guide: oral history file
A first result of the kick-off is the oral history dossier on FARO's Heritage Guide. The need for a central location for knowledge sharing was the most prominent one at the kick-off. The dossier contains practical examples, step-by-step plans, and background information.
This dossier will be supplemented in the coming period with additional information on interview techniques, the storage of audio and visual material, and transcriptions. Project sheets on completed oral history projects will also be collected here. Would you also like to share sample documents, additional manuals, etc. with the sector? Have you already completed oral history projects that could be included as project sheets? Then please contact Jelena Dobbels (
Planning Learning Network Oral History
- Study day on deontological and ethical questions (autumn 2023)
This fall, the Red Star Line Museum is organizing a study day as part of its project "Privacy, GDPR, and Ethics in Collection Management, Access, and Acquisition of Biographical Heritage: Developing a Policy, Protocol, and Legal Framework." The program is currently being developed.
- Positionality (Fall 2023)
How do you, as an interviewer, relate to the interviewee? How do you build sufficient trust? How far do you go in this process? Where does the heritage worker stop and the social worker begin? To explore this in more depth, we are organizing a vision-building meeting in the fall of 2023.
- Volunteering in Oral History (Spring 2024)
Many oral history projects rely on volunteers. For which aspects of a project can they be involved? How do you train them? An intervision/practice-oriented meeting will delve deeper into this.
- How Memory Works (Spring 2024)
Research shows that human memory is unstable. Myths are unconsciously formed, which the narrators accept as truth. They don't consciously distort the truth and are genuinely convinced that's how it happened. How do we, as a sector, deal with this? And isn't the heritage sector also the perfect place to showcase and question this fickle memory?
We will organize a meeting on this topic in the spring of 2024 to discuss/develop a vision.
- Basic Course in Oral History (Spring 2024)
There was considerable demand for a basic course that teaches beginners how to approach an oral history project. FARO will begin work this fall, with the goal of offering the first version of this basic course in the spring of 2024.
FARO and Amsab-ISG are organizing this learning network together with the Red Star Line Museum, CAG, and the Industrial Museum. The kickoff oral history program was inspired by the "Hafttijd" . This project, using oral testimonies, sheds light on the lunch break, both in the past and present.
