Telling Our Stories, Finding Our Roots is a community heritage and oral history project focused on diverse and multicultural histories. It explores the stories, memories and hidden histories of Devon’s towns and cities – past and present.
Through building an archive of oral history interviews, Telling Our Stories aims to preserve, share and celebrate the voices, stories and heritage of the wide range of people who live in Devon today, ensuring that the voices we listen to today and in the future are more diverse and more inclusive than the ones we’ve heard before.
To date, the project has gathered histories and contemporary stories from 3 towns and 1 city: Exeter (2012-13), Bideford (2020), Okehampton (2020) and Tiverton (2020).
The project is community-led and community-powered, supported throughout by teams of local volunteers, and featuring the voices and contributions of many community participants.
Telling Our Stories is a Devon Development Education project, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Public-facing activity has been made possible thanks to heritage partners Tiverton Museum of Mid Devon Life, The Museum of Dartmoor Life, The Burton at Bideford, and the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (2012 – 2013).
Telling Our Stories has engaged with 3 towns and 1 city across Mid and North Devon.
We have worked in Exeter (2012 – 2013); Bideford (2019 – 2020), Okehampton (2019 – 2020) and Tiverton (2019 – 2020).
These towns and cities are each very different. Exeter is the county’s capital; Tiverton is a centre of industry / manufacturing; Bideford is a port town; and Okehampton is an agricultural market town on the edge of Dartmoor.
Want to become a storyteller for a more inclusive society? Come to our Honiton launch event If you love storytelling or are from a diverse ethnic background and would like to share your story to create a more inclusive society then be at The Beehive, Dowell Street,...
Media Release 28th September 2023 Be part of the story for a more inclusive society – a call for volunteers in Honiton and Ilfracombe for exciting new multicultural...
Media Release 7th September 2023: Abi Obene appointed as Ilfracombe Community Heritage Coordinator for exciting new multi-cultural history project Devon Development Education (DDE), a global learning charity, is delighted to announce the appointment of...
Want to become a storyteller for a more inclusive society? Come to our Honiton launch event If you love storytelling or are from a diverse ethnic background and would like to share your story to create a more inclusive society then be at The Beehive, Dowell Street,...
Media Release 28th September 2023 Be part of the story for a more inclusive society – a call for volunteers in Honiton and Ilfracombe for exciting new multicultural...
What Multicultural History? I really enjoy talking to people about the Telling Our Stories, Finding Our Roots Project. Discussing project opportunities to explore diverse and multicultural histories, and watching people's faces light up as they begin to think of their...
Diving in and hitting the ground running has been the theme of the past few weeks, as the Telling Our Stories, Finding Our Roots project has kicked off in both Honiton and Ilfracombe, focusing on uncovering and rediscovering hidden multicultural accounts within each...
A collection of sketches from the Devon Record Office, made by J Harris in 1823 and 1824 (ref no Z19/2/4) Number 8: 'Mr White A Black Beggar' is of special interest to this project - nothing else is known of him. Photographs by Ghee Bowman, with acknowledgements to...
What Multicultural History? I really enjoy talking to people about the Telling Our Stories, Finding Our Roots Project. Discussing project opportunities to explore diverse and multicultural histories, and watching people's faces light up as they begin to think of their...
Diving in and hitting the ground running has been the theme of the past few weeks, as the Telling Our Stories, Finding Our Roots project has kicked off in both Honiton and Ilfracombe, focusing on uncovering and rediscovering hidden multicultural accounts within each...