1 / 20

Rescuing Refugee Archives: Preserving the History of the Refugee Experience, a UK Perspective.

Rescuing Refugee Archives: Preserving the History of the Refugee Experience, a UK Perspective. By Paul V. Dudman Archivist University of East London. Scope of the paper. This presentation will aim to:

brock
Download Presentation

Rescuing Refugee Archives: Preserving the History of the Refugee Experience, a UK Perspective.

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Rescuing Refugee Archives: Preserving the History of the Refugee Experience, a UK Perspective. By Paul V. Dudman Archivist University of East London

  2. Scope of the paper • This presentation will aim to: • Consider the work of Archive staff at the Refugee Council Archive at the University of East London as a case study to consider the `hurdles’ and the `approaches’ to overcoming barriers in trying to manage and develop an archive dedicated to the refugee. • This paper will also briefly consider the approaches being undertaken within the UK more generally to collect and preserve the history of the refugee experience. #SAA12 Session Number: 509

  3. Importance of Refugee Archives • Why collect Refugee Archives? • The collection of records relating to refugees is important as refugees are an under-documented and under-represented group in archival collections. • Refugee collections are essential for expanding our perceptions of history, culture and memory. • As argued by Philip Marfleet, “engagement with history is not straightforward.” It is important to ask “Why have historians ignored most refugee movements and `silenced’ those involved? Can refugees be re-installed on the historical record.” (2007, p. 136). #SAA12 Session Number: 509

  4. The Refugee council archive at uel • How did the Archive of the Refugee Council come to be located at the University of East London? #SAA12 Session Number: 509

  5. The Refugee Council • History of the Refugee Council • Founded in 1951 as the British Council for Aid to Refugees (BCAR) and the Standing Conference on Refugees, (SCOR). • Merged in 1981 to create the British Refugee Council. • Largest charity in the UK dealing specifically with refugees and asylum seekers. • Link: http://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/ #SAA12 Session Number: 509

  6. The Refugee council Archive at UEL • What does the Refugee Council Archive at UEL offer? • Thematic collection of published books and journals, reports and grey literature incorporating working papers, conference papers, leaflets, newsletters, case studies, field reports, statistical data, press cuttings, and bibliographies. • New donation of 40 boxes of archival materials including correspondence, minutes of meetings, and related materials. #SAA12 Session Number: 509

  7. Barriers to the Use of the Refugee Archive • Barriers for Refugee Community Groups in using the Archive can be seen as: • Limited Staffing • Inconvenient Opening Hours • Funding Issues • Ongoing Archival Backlogs and New Deposits • Lack of an Outreach Policy and Difficulties of Marketing a Collection with Limited “display-friendly” materials • Limited Digital Materials • The Refugee’s Own Perceptions #SAA12 Session Number: 509

  8. What can be done to improve this? • Possible approaches for the future include: • Retrospective Cataloguing • Overhaul of Online Provision • Making better use of social media? • Greater involvement with community archive projects and ongoing campaigns within the archival sector #SAA12 Session Number: 509

  9. A Wider UK Perspective • A very quick overview of what else is being done within the UK archival sector. • The Work of The National Archives • Collection Development at London Metropolitan Archives • Community Archives • Online Databases • Launch of the Campaign for Voluntary Archives #SAA12 Session Number: 509

  10. The National Archives • The National Archives, based in Kew, London, and is the official archive of deposit for the UK Government. • Contains the earliest recorded mention on aliens in England, dating to the period 1207-1547, including mentions in the records of the Chancery and Exchequer of alien clergy and foreign merchants. • Admits that the records relating to immigration are incomplete #SAA12 Session Number: 509

  11. The National Archives • The National Archives has recently published several guides to the immigration and emigration records in their care: • Roger Kershaw and Mark Pearsall. Immigrants and Aliens: A Guide to Sources on UK Immigration and Citizenship. 2nd ed. Kew: The National Archives, 2004. • Roger Kershaw. Emigrants and Expats: A Guide to Sources on UK Emigration and Residents Overseas. Kew: Public Record Office, 2002. • Roger Kershaw and Janet Sacks. New Lives for Old: (The Story of Britain’s Child Migrants). Kew: The National Archives, 2008. #SAA12 Session Number: 509

  12. London Metropolitan Archives • The London Metropolitan Archive (LMA) is “the largest local authority record office in the United Kingdom” (LMA website, 2012). • LMA Collections Policy: • Aim to collect `Records of ethnic and other minority communities which reflect the diversity of modern London, including collections from the Afro-Caribbean, Asian and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered communities.’ (LMA: 2012). • LMA dedicated webpage on collections relating to Migration, settlement and activities of new communities and a number of collection guides. #SAA12 Session Number: 509

  13. Community Archives • Development of Community Archives within the UK. • The Community Archives and Heritage Group (CAHG) founded in 2006 with a remit to provide a central resource for community archive projects. • CAHG see Black, Minority and Ethnic Communities as being an important strand in the collection of community archives. • Types of successful community projects in this field include: #SAA12 Session Number: 509

  14. Community Archives • Examples of community archives on minority issues include: • The Belfast Indian Community Archive • The Birmingham Black Oral History Project • Chinese Lives: the Chinese in Newham (part of the Eastside Community Heritage East London People’s Archive). • Cypriot Diaspora Project • DeshVidesh: Home and Away – A History of the Asian Community #SAA12 Session Number: 509

  15. Online Databases • The following database outline some of the work that has been done in making important archival records make accessible to a wider audience: • BARGE – British Archival Resources Relating to German-Speaking Refugees - http://www.sussex.ac.uk/cgjs/ • DANGO – Database of Archives of UK NGOs Since 1945 - http://www.dango.bham.ac.uk/ #SAA12 Session Number: 509

  16. Campaign for Voluntary Archives • CHARM: the Charity Archivists and Records Managers Group • http://www.charmonline.org.uk/ • Launch of the Campaign for Voluntary Archives • http://www.vahs.org.uk/archives/ #SAA12 Session Number: 509

  17. Further Information • Further details on the Archive collections can be found here: • UEL Archives – www.uel.ac.uk/lls/search/resources/archives/ • Refugee Council Archive – www.uel.ac.uk/rca/ • Refugee Archive Blog– refugeearchives.wordpress.com • Twitter: @refugee_archive • Content level descriptions for all of our collections can also be found on both the Archives Hub and AIM25. #SAA12 Session Number: 509

  18. Note of Thanks • I would like to take this opportunity to thank: • The Archives and Records Association (UK) Section for International Engagement for granting me an International Engagement bursary in order to attend this event. • To Ann Mallett, for arranging and coordinating this panel session. • To my fellow panel session speakers, Christina Woo and Thuy Vo Dang, for their interesting and informative presentations. #SAA12 Session Number: 509

  19. Contact Details • I would be happy to respond to any questions in regard to both this presentation and our archival collections more generally. • My contact details are: • Paul V Dudman • Email: p.v.dudman@uel.ac.uk • Skype: refugeearchives and/or paul_dudman • Telephone: +44(0)20 8223 4036/7676 • Library & Learning Services, University of East London, Docklands Campus, 4-6 University Way, London, E16 2RD, United Kingdom #SAA12 Session Number: 509

  20. References & Further Reading • References: • London Metropolitan Archives. (2010) Collections Policy. Rev.ed. London: London Metropolitan Archives. • Marfleet, Phil. (2007) “Refugees and history: why we must address the past”, Refugee Survey Quarterly, Vol 26, No 3, pages 136-148 • Further Reading: • Bastien, Jeanette A. And Ben Alexender (eds.). (2009). Community Archives: The Shaping of Memory. London: Facet. • Hammel. Andrea, Anthony Grenville, and Sharon Krummel. (eds.) (2007). Refugee Archives: Theory and Practice. Amsterdam and New York: Rodolpi. The Yearbook of the Research Centre for German and Austrian Exile Studies, Volume 9 (2007). • Hill, Jennie (ed.). (2011). The Future of Archives and Recordkeeping: A Reader. London: Facet. • Kershaw, Roger and Mark Pearsall. (2004). Immigrants and Aliens: A Guide to Sources on UK Immigration and Citizenship. 2nd ed. Kew: The National Archives. • Kershaw, Roger. (2002). Emigrants and Expats: A Guide to Sources on UK Emigration and Residents Overseas. Kew: Public Record Office. • Kershaw, Roger and Janet Sacks. (2008). New Lives for Old: (The Story of Britain’s Child Migrants). Kew: The National Archives. • Seabrook, Jeremy. (2009). The Refuge and the Fortress: Britain and the Flight from Tyranny. Basingstoke & New York: Palgrave Macmillan. #SAA12 Session Number: 509

More Related