Volunteers needed for 'From the Grassroots' - our new oral history project in Devon

Our new oral history project, ‘From the Grassroots: An Oral History of Community Politics in Devon’ has now begun and we are looking for volunteers to help us. 'From the grassroots' will create a sound archive of people involved in local politics in Devon from the Second World War until the present day. The project will build a rounded picture of Devon’s rich political heritage as told by the participants themselves, recording the memories of activists and campaigners, to discover why they became involved in political activism and what impact they had on the democratic process (for more information, see here).

To do this, we need your help. Volunteers will be at the hub of the project, and they will have the opportunity to learn new skills in areas such as oral history, writing research articles and digital storytelling. If you want to gain new skills and meet new friends by volunteering in ‘From the Grassroots’, then please get in touch. 

We are also looking for people to take part in oral history recordings. Whether you are a current or retired party activist, local party officer, MP, councillor, a relative of someone involved in local politics, or you know of an ideal oral history candidate, the project team would be delighted to hear from you. 

Over the next 18 months the project will be delivering a variety of outreach events with the aim of engaging people in the political history of Devon. Highlights will include a touring exhibition, website, schools programme, and a series of workshops and talks, so there are plenty of ways to get involved. The new archive of oral histories that volunteers help to record will remain in Devon as valuable research resource in political history for current and future generations. 

We have recently appointed Dr Kayleigh Milden as project co-ordinator. Dr Milden is based at the Devon Heritage Centre, Exeter, and will be managing the project on a day-to-day basis. For more information or to get involved, please contact Dr Milden at: kmilden@histparl.ac.uk, 01392 384838, or contact us via the website.