The Labour-led Welsh Assembly Government today announced the first steps in the development of an online collection of the history of Wales and its people - the first of its kind in the UK
The All Wales People’s Collection will be a virtual space where visitors can explore the history of Wales, mapping out their own journey through time, creating their own personalised collections and joining in with discussions and debate. The project will look to use interactive technology to bring our history to life and encourage new generations to delve into photographs, documents, pieces of film, books and artefacts to discover the diverse stories of Wales’ people for themselves.
The announcement also marks an important step the towards meeting Welsh Labour’s promise to the people of Wales last year to “ensure the contribution of working communities to history and development of Wales is never forgotten, we will establish an all-Wales Collection of People’s History” (Welsh Labour Assembly manifesto 2007, p30).
Exciting digital content from our museums, archives and libraries will be brought together in one place, including linking to existing digitalised resources such as www.glaniad.com, which provides insight into the Welsh settlements in Patagonia, and the treasures accessed through the Gathering the Jewels website www.gtj.org.uk. The Collection will be continually evolving as community groups and individuals will be able to contribute content, capturing and interpreting important memories and images that might otherwise be lost.
An important tool in the Assembly Government’s plan to encourage cultural tourism, the Collection will also give visitors and potential visitors to Wales a taster of what’s on offer at our museums and heritage attractions. It will encourage them to experience these sights and sounds first hand by offering heritage trails online.
A range of partners will be involved in the development of the project over the next three years. These include, amongst others: Llafur: The Welsh People’s History Society, Herian, Amgueddfa-Cymru – National Museum Wales, the National Library of Wales and the Royal Commission on Ancient Monuments.
