Announcement-National Heritage Week 2020

We are delighted to announce plans for a modified National Heritage Week 2020, which take into account ongoing restrictions on events and gatherings due to COVID-19.

Rather than focusing on the organisation of in-person public events, local heritage groups and organisers, families and communities are being invited to develop projects around this year’s theme of ‘Heritage and Education: Learning from our Heritage’. Coordinated by the Heritage Council since 2005, National Heritage Week has become one of Ireland’s largest cultural events, and will run this year from Saturday, 15th – Sunday, 23rd August.

To support project organisers in arriving at an aspect of heritage that they might want to explore under this year’s theme of ‘Heritage and Education: Learning from our Heritage’, three broad sub-themes can be considered for projects:

Heritage on your doorstep: Projects might research, and collect local knowledge about a monument or landmark; explore the origins of local customs or traditions and how these may have changed over time; examine how aspects of the local landscape, such as a canal, river or lake, have influenced a community; or capturing stories from local members of the community who have survived adversity (for example, the TB epidemic of the 1940s).

Relearning skills from our heritage: Projects could explore forgotten or overlooked skills with a view to sharing them among younger generations; document crafts, skills or trades that one’s community was previously well-known for; investigate traditional remedies unique to a locality which were used to treat common aches and pains, and record the stories of individuals who remember such remedies; research traditional food preparation or preservation methods throughout the ages.

The heritage of education: Projects might explore the history of an old school which has served many generations; better understand the role of a local hedge school; delve into the history of a monastic settlement; interrogate how the experience of going to school has evolved over time.

In addition to developing new research, projects could also revisit or build on a heritage project which may already have been started at an individual, family or community level. In this instance, the National Heritage Week project could involve showcasing research already done on a monument, a waterway, or a skill or tradition in the community, and finding new ways to grow awareness of it.

All above information shared from https://www.heritageweek.ie/

 

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