THREE BIG CULTURES AND… ONE SMALL CITY.
“ORAL HISTORY” METHOD WORKSHOPS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE IN KĘPNO.

IMPLEMENTATION PERIOD: 2019
STATUS: completed
SOURCE OF FUNDING: the “Patriotism of Tomorrow” program of the Polish History Museum in Warsaw.
FUNDING: PLN 16,000 (total cost: PLN 18,400) (całkowity koszt: 18000 PLN)
PROJECT PARTNERS: Museum of the Kępińska Region T.P. Potworowski in Kępno

“Three Great Cultures and … One Small City.” Is a project addressed to schoolchildren aged 14-18 interested in learning about and exploring the multicultural past of their city, discovered, however, not through the narrative of universal history, but seen through the eyes of ordinary people.

During the workshops, participants will have the opportunity to learn about the assumptions of the so-called oral history, learn about the possibilities and limitations of the workshop of a researcher collecting witness accounts and learn multimedia recording techniques for interviews/conversations, as well as ways of their assembly and processing. Using the acquired theoretical and practical knowledge, the project participants will independently record the accounts of people from their surroundings who remember or know from the stories of relatives or friends, stories related to the three cultures coexisting in former Kępno.

The resulting film / sound materials, discussed and corrected during the workshop with the lecturers, will serve as the basis for creating an exhibition summarizing the entire project at the Museum of the Kępińska Land name Potworowski. Selected stories will be professionally registered by the teacher and participants and will be a business card promoting the project after its completion.

The idea of the project is for witness accounts registered by young people regarding the multicultural reality of pre-war and post-war Kępno to become a tool for integrating generations, exploring the past of their own city and intercultural education. The project is part of the program’s goal of commemorating native history and restoring local memory by discovering the history of “small homelands” and their source resources. What’s more, it can be an interesting complement to existing activities related to discovering the multicultural past of Kępno and promoting its uniqueness, such as the annual city festival of three cultures, which has already had its two editions.