Our second project, Leaving. Crossing. Arriving got off to a great start with a fascinating Zoom talk about Ireland’s Migration History by Paddy Fitzgerald and Liam Campbell (Mellon Centre for Migration Studies).
The group then spent a day in PRONI taking part in an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour where they learned from archivist Lynsey Gillespie how emigration records, such as letters, leaflets and documents, have made their way to PRONI and are safely stored and made accessible onsite and digitally.
Conservator Maud Gallagher demonstrated how these records are preserved and restored and the volunteers also had a chance to engage with a selection of documents related to Northern Ireland’s migration and BAME history.
The group will now select an emigration letter from PRONI’s archives that resonate with them and will learn how to use podcasts as a way of bringing archives forward and enhancing engagement with them.
They will also take part in a Letter Writing workshop where they will be inspired to hand-write their own letter and leave them in PRONI’s archives for future generations.
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