Czechs collect personal memories
With Europeana 1989, Czech and Slovak personal stories from this crucial time in history will become part of European history. All residents of former Czechoslovakia are called to participate and contribute their story and memorabilia to the digital archive.
Do you have photographs from the revolutionary days of 1989 or photographs from family vacations and everyday life, favourite records or toys that date from this time of change? Perhaps you have memories that could show future generations how the society appeared in the late 1980s and early 1990s when the Iron Curtain collapsed? If so, then take part and become a permanent part of history with the Europeana 1989 project. Digitised objects and selected items may also become part of the exhibition that is being prepared by the National Museum next year to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution.
The mission of Europeana 1989 is to create a vivid picture of the revolutionary events in Europe with personal stories, photos, videos and sound recordings from across Central and Eastern Europe. The result will be a fascinating archive to be explored for research work, learning and personal interest.The Europeana 1989 project is part of the peerless platform called Europeana – the European digital library, museum and archive. We believe that thanks to modern technologies, we can make history and culture available for everyone everywhere, and we are working on creating new ways to get people involved with their cultural history.
Europeana 1989 in the Czech Republic is organised by the National Museum and the Institute of Contemporary History of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.The National Museum together with four other museums across the Czech Republic is organising Collection Days and encouraging the public to share their own stories, memories and historical items at these events or online at www.europeana1989.eu.
Residents of Pilsen and Hradec Královéhave already had the possibility to get involved in the Europeana 1989 project. At the beginning of November, the first Collection Days took place in both towns. The Pilseners brought so much material to the museum that the historians will be sorting for several months to come. For example, amongst the contributors was one of the local organisers of the November protests. He was followed by a member of the Czech National Council, which was transformed into the Chamber of deputies.
‘When I found out about the existence of this project I brought everything I found at my home. The Velvet Revolution is such an important milestone in our history that it is necessary to have it historically well documented for future,' said František Nerad, who offered – besides recording his memories – valuable photographs of Václav Havel, Dagmar Burešová, Daniela Kolářová and images of his family from the time when the public protests against the communist regime peaked.
During the following Collection Days in Prague, Olomouc and Opava, people can bring a range of items including. samizdat, photographs from vacations abroad, items associated with exile or the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, period press, advertising leaflets, postcards, public transport tickets, concert tickets, banners, identity cards…
'We welcome also period toys, food packaging or household appliances. Simply items with a story, which relate to the period of time between the years of 1986 and 1992. We are also interested in memories that will be recorded by our historians,' explains Pavel Douša, Director of the Historical Museum of the National Museum.
'I was really surprised by how many people in Poland brought their memorabilia in order to share them with the world and I am glad that Czechs are bringing unpublished photographs and their stories as well because stories of all of us, however petty these might be, are important. Every story and recollection helps to complete the picture of events that led to the transformation in Central Europe. Personal stories, recollections and experiences can help others to better understand how it was and see the events from the other point of view,' saysPetr Janyška, Czech ambassador of the Europeana 1989 project.
As well as bringing various items or recording their own memories at our events, it is possible for individuals to upload their digitised materials to the purpose-made website www.europeana1989.eu/cz/.
'History is not only about exhibits in museums and about information in books. It is also about real people and their stories. That's why contemporary museums act as intermediaries forf these stories for future generations,' adds Pavel Douša.
How to participate
Collection Days will take place from 10:00-18:00 in the following cities:
17 November - Prague, New Building of National Museum
23 November - Olomouc, Regional Museum in Olomouc
30 November - Opava, Silesian Museum
Collection Days have already taken place in Pilsen (2 November) and Hradec Králové (9 November).
Or go to the websites www.europeana1989.eu/cz and www.esbirky.cz.
Media contacts:
Tereza Petáková |Národní muzeum|E: tereza_petakova@nm.cz
T: +420 724 412 255
Jana Martinková |AC&C Public Relations |E: jana.martinkova@accpr.cz
T: +420 736 751 159
About Europeana 1989
In 2014, the world will celebrate the 25th anniversary of an extraordinary year - 1989 - when walls crumbled and the people of Europe were united again. The Europeana 1989 project asks people from every country involved to digitise their own stories, photos, videos and sound recordings of 1989. The result will be a fascinating archive for present and future generations that can be explored for learning, personal interest and research work. Europeana 1989 is the result of collaboration between eleven partner institutions, Historypin and Europeana. The campaign already took place in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. In Hungary, the actions will relate to the real dismantling of the Iron Curtain on the border with Austria.
About Europeana – digital library, museum and archive
The Europeana 1989 project is part of the Europeana platform (www.europeana.eu), Europe's digital library, museum and archive. Europeanacollects and provides access to digitised material from libraries, archives, audiovisual archives and museums. It has more than 2,300 collaborating institutions and the website is available in 29 European languages. Europeana allows the public to discover and explore the cultural and intellectual heritage of Europe through a simple search engine and virtual exhibitions. Since its launch by the European Commission in November 2008, Europeana has grown to include 29 million documents and heritage works. All the stories and objects collected by Europeana 1989 will be made available through www.europeana.eu
About the National Museum
The National Museum is the largest museum in the Czech Republic. This year, it celebrated 195 years since its foundation. This major museum institution consists of five specialised institutes – the Museum of Natural Sciences, the Historical Museum, the Library of the National Museum, the Náprstek Museum of Asian, African and American Cultures and the Czech Museum of Music. The National Museum is in charge of extensive collections, with more than 20 million collection items. The National Museum manages 17 premises in Prague as well as outside Prague. Beside permanent expositions it also presents generous thematic exhibitions and a lot of cultural and educational accompanying actions for general public. You can find more information about the National Museum and its activities onwww.nm.czand www.muzeum3000.cz.
About the Historypin platform
Europeana and Historypin formed a strategic partnership to provide an innovative platform for the project website of Europeana 1989. The www.europeana1989.eu website is hosted within the framework of Historypin and will make use of its technologies.
Historypin sets out to bring society together around the history of their families and streets, from across different generations and cultures, to explore and create a global communal archive, building up a picture of the past. Historypin.com allows users to upload photos, videos, audio recordings, and stories and pin them to a particular date and time on the Historypin map of the world. Street level images and videos can be also be overlaid onto Google Maps Street View on the Historypin site (www.historypin.com) for a fascinating and nostalgic then-and-now juxtaposition. Historypin is a not-for-profit project that supports its development through grants and sponsorship.