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’.
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.
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.
In addition to regular partners and an active community, the Oral History Hub has an active and committed steering committee:
The Oral History Hub folows the Good Governance Code Culture and de Code Diversity & Inclusion
