Have you got an interesting migration story to share, or an object that tells the tale of your family’s move from one country to another?
Members of the public are being encouraged to bring their migration tales to a “story collecting weekend” at Epic, the Irish Emigration Museum in Dublin on May 26th and 27th, along with objects that form part of their own or their family’s migration story, such as letters, postcards, photographs, tickets, diaries, artworks, items of clothing, recipes, books, footage, mementos, badges, or songs.
People who have lived overseas and returned to Ireland, as well as those with emigrant family members or ancestors, are being invited to attend.
"The Irish are a nation of emigrants; our history and identity has long been shaped by the comings and goings of people," says Jessica Traynor, deputy museum director of Epic.
“We all know someone who has moved to the UK, US, Australia, Canada or further afield. But emigration is no longer the one-way journey it was in the past, and many of us have lived overseas and returned. As a digital museum, we want to preserve these stories for future generations.”
Story collectors will record the stories and photograph the objects on the day. These records will become part of the online Europeana Migration Collection, a European project that aims to show how the flow of people and ideas adds to the richness of culture around Europe and the world. The digital archive already contains 210,999 items on the topic of migration to, from and within Europe.
“We are encouraging young and old to share their story with us,” Traynor says.
“ On the day, we will listen to your story and photograph your objects so you can take them home again. What you bring just needs to have special meaning or memories attached to it - it doesn’t need to be worth a lot.”
Story collecting events are also taking place this year in Belgium, the Netherlands, Hungary, Wales, Croatia, Luxembourg, Latvia and Serbia. The project is part of the 2018 European Year of Cultural Heritage, a year of events, activities and celebrations around Europe to get people interested and involved in cultural heritage.
Two further story collecting weekends will take place during 2018 at EPIC. On August 18th and 19th, the focus will be on “New Irish Communities”, while on November 24th and 25th, the stories of “Women Migrants” will be collected.
For more information, see epicchq.com/about-epic-irish-emigration-museum
