We intend to produce a research guide for Minority Ethnic history in Glamorgan. The guide will outline resources available to researchers, provide examples of records, include a glossary of terms, and signpost relevant collections held elsewhere. Official and institutional records, such as police, court and hospital records, will be included, along with records of community organisations and personal archival material.
Experts in research methodologies and Minority Ethnic history will be engaged to design and advise on the project. Our project officer is overseeing the project, recruiting, training and supervising volunteers and paid researchers. Currently, there are few minority ethnic people researching diverse ethnicity history in Wales. In order to encourage students and others to engage, it is proposed to employ four researchers to examine specific collections.
The guide will be available bilingually on Glamorgan Archives’ website. Publishing digitally will ensure it remains current as it will be easy to respond to feedback and update, and will aid distribution through circulation by email.
Despite Wales making history by including cultural heritage and ethnic diversity of Wales and the wider world as a mandatory element of our curriculum, there is a lack of historic information available. Before government departments can embed changes within their policy-making and service delivery, heritage organisations need to use the most appropriate mechanisms to provide that information, which at this time is lacking.
Outcomes include:
- Widening access to Minority Ethnic archives
- Encouraging deposit of Minority Ethnic archives
- Enhancement of terms used in archive cataloguing and indexing.
- Use of the guide by other archive services in Wales.
Overall, the guide will add new material to the Minority Ethnic history of Wales, providing the first Wales-wide methodology for searching and recognising Minority Ethnic history content in collections and publishing that material for use by the general public.
Opportunity
As a volunteer you will be researching potential resources for inclusion in the guide and testing out a glossary of terms designed to assist in identifying relevant content. By taking part in this project, you will be contributing towards work addressing the lack of ethnic minority research content, to highlight and encourage the use of minority ethnic research and resources at Glamorgan Archives. We want to ensure communities are properly represented, and that representation has been done by minority ethnic people themselves.
Proposed timeline
- Recruitment of volunteers and paid researchers – June to July 2023
- Train, assist and supervise volunteers and paid researchers in the recovery of information – August to September 2023.
Additional information
We understand that your time may be limited and that you have other commitments and responsibilities. Therefore, we are committed to providing a flexible volunteering experience that accommodates your schedule and personal needs. We are here to support you along the way and have a dedicated project officer to answer any of your questions/concerns.
We intend to meet online and in person. We will be encouraging participants to take part online using resources such as Welsh Newspapers Online, enabling them to take part from home. We recognise people have different skills and abilities, we want to make this project as accessible and inclusive as possible. Please let us know if there are any adjustments we should make or additional support we could offer, in order for you to take part.
Take part
To express interest in this project and for further information about this project, please contact us at glamro@cardiff.gov.uk to receive our application form.