World Fellowship Center Announces Oral History Workshop Weekend

The New Hampshire Humanities Council asked me to share this information with the NH library community.

(Albany, NH) - The World Fellowship Center has received a grant from the New Hampshire Humanities Council to present “Building Community with Stories: The Art of Gathering and Presenting Oral History.”  This oral history workshop will be held the weekend of September 14-16, at the World Fellowship Center, located at 368 Drake Hill Rd, Albany NH.

Are you interested in collecting the stories of your family, your community, your organization? Teachers, community historians, organizational leaders, family historians, writers, performers, and all those interested in enhancing their oral history skills are invited to attend.

Jo Radner will lead this lively, hands-on workshop that will guide participants through effective strategies of interviewing, designing oral history projects, and presenting community stories.  Jo will give special attention to the kinds of projects envisioned by participants and will present examples of possible outcomes of oral history projects, from theatrical performances to websites, walking tours to print publications, school projects to immigrant festivals.

Oral history projects can serve to unify relations between newcomers and long-term residents, build stronger communities, reinforce family bonds, improve students’ understanding of history, and forge collaborations amongst diverse community groups.

Jo Radner is an oral historian, folklorist, and storyteller. She has taught oral history workshops and performed community stories from Maine to Hawaii. She is past president of the American Folklore Society and the National Storytelling Network. Learn more about her work at www.joradner.com.   

On Saturday, September 15, at 7pm, there is a free event open to the public entitled, “The Stories We’ve Heard: Performances of Oral History”. Jo will perform stories based on family and community oral history and participants in the weekend-long workshop will join her on stage.

The fee for attending the entire workshop is at the reduced cost of $30 ($20 for the second registrant from the same organization or family), thanks to the generosity of the New Hampshire Humanities Council. Anyone from the public is welcome to attend with advance reservation.  Meals and overnight lodging are also available if desired, at the picturesque World Fellowship Center.  Nightly rates include three meals and begin at $51 per night per adult. Non-participants are welcome to come along and enjoy World Fellowship’s waterfront, hiking trails, grassy recreation areas, and proximity to North Conway and the White Mountains. 

The New Hampshire Humanities Council nurtures the joy of learning and inspires community engagement by bringing life-enhancing ideas from the humanities to the people of New Hampshire. They connect people with ideas. Learn more about the Council and its work at www.nhhc.org.

The World Fellowship Center is a secular, non-profit intergenerational camp and conference center established in 1941. Its mission is to promote peace and social justice through educational and multicultural programs, inspired by the natural beauty of the White Mountains. For more information, go to www.worldfellowship.org.

For information about the program, contact Jo Radner at jradner@american.edu or 207-925-6244. To make a reservation for this workshop, contact the World Fellowship Center at 603-447-2280 or email reservations@worldfellowship.org.