Background
In August 2003 members from the Darby and Joan group and the Youth Club in Fitzwilliam got together with local media company One to One Productions to produce a community web site. The project happened through SRB funding awarded to One to One Productions from the Hemsworth Coalfield Partnership. This generated an interest in the community of developing its own archive site and an oral history project.
Members of the community and the Darby and Joan group supported by local councillors worked on a funding bid to the Countryside Agency's 'Local Heritage Initiative' in Yorkshire and Humberside. In July 2004 the group received confirmation that the application had been successful.
Project
The project involved the local community working in partnership with One to One Productions to develop and design the archive. The funding allowed the group to invest in new media equipment for the community, training and advise on the use of the equipment has been part of the project.
Open drop in sessions have been organised in the community centre, these have been advertised by posters, flyers and word of mouth throughout the village and surrounding areas. People have dropped into the sessions with photographs and stories all of which have been documented. Filming and audio recording has also been organised with people in the village. The project was publicly launched online in April 2005.
It is hoped that the archive will not only offer an insight into the villages past, but will also provide a contemporary record of peoples recollections, hopes, fears and aspirations at the start of a new century.
About the funders
Local Heritage Initiative is a national grant scheme that helps local groups to investigate, explain and care for their local landscape, landmarks, traditions and culture.
Local Heritage Initiative (LHI) is about appreciating the past, by informing the present and encouraging thought and action for the future.
The Local Heritage Initiative is an England-wide grant scheme that helps local groups to investigate, explain and care for their local landscape, landmarks, traditions and culture. The grant is provided by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) but the scheme is a partnership, administered by the Countryside Agency with additional funding from Nationwide Building Society.
The scheme was launched in February 2000 and is planned to run for 10 years.
If you would like to know more about the scheme please check out their web site at www.lhi.org.uk
About One to One Productions
One to One Productions are a media company who specialise in projects working with community groups or voluntary organisations encouraging them to improve their skills and creativity, speak out and document their change. One to One Productions work with all age groups and facilitate projects according to the needs and sensitivities of the group. The company facilitates and initiates video, design, arts and web based work.
One to One Productions have been working in and around the communities of Wakefield since 1988. One to One Productions have a long track record of working with groups in the Fitzwilliam area as well as documenting changes in the wider communities since the demise of the mining industry and its culture. One to One Productions holds an extensive and diverse archive of its own material including video and photography.
If you would like to find out more about One to One Productions and the types of work it undertakes please check out the web site at www.onetooneproductions.com