SEE MY WORLD: Living Archives

A hands-on community archiving workshop exploring oral history, memory, and community, delivered in partnership with the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah RACE Centre & Education Trust as part of See My World: A Series of Pan-African Experiences.

The workshop introduces the fundamentals of oral history and community archiving, with a particular focus on preserving lived experience, memory, and cultural heritage within African-diasporic and wider communities.

Participants learn how stories are recorded, cared for, and archived, and why everyday voices matter alongside official histories. The session is practical, accessible, and grounded in real archival practice.

The workshop is suitable for local community members, creatives, students, and anyone curious about how stories are collected and preserved. It provides tools, context, and confidence to begin engaging with oral history and community archiving.

The session explores why oral histories are especially important for underrepresented communities, how to approach ethical interviewing, consent, and care, and practical methods for recording and documenting stories. It also looks at what happens after a story is recorded, including summaries, sensitivity reviewing, and long-term preservation, as well as how community stories can become part of a living archive.

Attendees can expect hands-on activities and discussion, guidance from experienced community archivists, opportunities to reflect on their own stories and those around them, and insight into the Pan-African collections held at Manchester Central Library.

The workshop is aimed at community members, creatives and artists, emerging researchers or heritage practitioners, and anyone interested in memory, culture, and storytelling. No prior experience is required.