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Oral History Hub

Foundation for the Promotion of Social Participation (BMP), together with various partners, has taken the initiative to set up the National Oral History Hub “Sprekende geschiedenis“. The aim is to promote oral history in all its facets. The Hub does this by stimulating collaboration and cross-pollination between museums, archives, universities, knowledge institutes and social initiatives.

 

On the website “Sprekende geschiedenis“, existing and new collections of personal stories and testimonies of residents of the Netherlands and Flanders in all their diversity are made visible, accessible and searchable. Examples of successful presentations of oral history material are shown.

‘Oral history records people’s life stories, testimonies about historical events and the meaning they give to their environment. These are stories collected through (open) interviews and through the use of oral sources’.

Getting started

Interest in oral history has grown considerably in recent years and is only increasing. Young and old are interested in the stories of people who have experienced recent historical events and changes. The history of villages, districts and regions, told by the people who lived there, also appeals to the imagination. But if you want to start an oral history project as a historical society, a migrant group or a group of neighborhood residents, there is little information and guidance on how best to do this. There are hardly any appropriate content and technical workshops and courses. It is also unclear which digital standards your material must meet. We want to offer answers to these and other questions through “Sprekende geschiedenis” and we hope to stimulate visitors to start working with oral history themselves. 

 

 

 

Objective

The Oral History Hub aims to:

 

  • Share knowledge and experience in the field of oral history.

  • Stimulate the development and implementation of Dutch oral history projects and research.

  • Contribute to making oral history collections findable and searchable and offer a showcase of current projects.

  • Stimulating the presentation of oral history material to the public.

  • Supporting the development of a lively Dutch oral history community.

  • Actively contributing to a greater inclusiveness and diversity of historiography and the heritage sector.

  • To lobby the government and funders.

 

 

 

 

 

Organisation

Saskia Moerbeek

director
saskia@stichtingbmp.nl

Frank von Meijenfeldt

researcher / project officer
frank@stichtingbmp.nl

Ivana Barić

senior communication advisor
ivana@sprekendegeschiedenis.nl

Mila Lemmens

Junior communicatiemedewerker
mila@sprekendegeschiedenis.nl

Arjan van Hessen

Language and Speech Technology University of Twente
a.j.vanhessen@utwente.nl

Myrthe Kroes

Medewerker
myrthe@sprekendegeschiedenis.nl

Herman Verlint

Stagiair vanuit Open Universiteit
 

In addition to regular partners and an active community, the Oral History Hub has an active and committed steering committee:

Steering group members Oral History Hub

Selma Leydesdorff

Emeritus professor of Oral history and culture at the University of Amsterdam

Jantje Steenhuis

Director City Archives Rotterdam

Marloes Hülsken

Senior lecturer in teacher training at the HAN and initiator of the website Oral history in the classroom

Domenica Ghidei Biidu

Strategic advisor and executive coach in the field of inclusion and diversity, (independent chair)

Nicole Emmenegger

Network Manager TDCC Social Sciences & Humanities, DANS-KNAW

Arjan van Hessen

Scientific associate of Language and Speech Technology at the University of Twente and board member of the Open Speech Technology Foundation

Leo Lucassen

Director of the International Institute of Social History (IISG), on behalf of the KNAW

Sophia Imaghri

Project leader Oral History van het Nederlands Moslim Archief

Drs. L.A. (Luc) de Vries

Collecties en Collectie-ontwikkeling Tresoar Fries Historisch en Letterkundig Centrum

Susan Hogervorst

University lecturer in cultural history at the Open University, on behalf of the Oral History workgroup of the Huizinga Institute

Marjan Ruiter

Director Zeeuws Museum

Sanneke Stigter

Assistant Professor in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage at the University of Amsterdam

Lian van der Zon

Audience and History, Gelderland Heritage

Advisory Board

Mieke Zaanen

Former Director of the KNAW (The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences) (Chairman)

James Kennedy

Professor of Modern Dutch History at the Faculty of Humanities at Utrecht University. Former chairman of the committee renewed Canon of the Netherlands

Yasemin Tümer

Chairman of the Supervisory Board of The Creative Industries Fund NL, Member of the Advisory Board of the National Police Force and Investor in Female Entrepreneurship
 

The Oral History Hub folows the Good Governance Code Culture and de Code Diversity & Inclusion