Europeana boards the Freedom Express

Europeana's marketing specialist Neil Bates is participating in the Freedom Express as a Europeana representative. But what is the Freedom Express and why is it relevant to Europeana? Neil answers a few questions...

Neil Bates, Europeana CC BY-SA

What is the Freedom Express and why was it conceived?

The Freedom Express takes twenty young Europeans on a journey, during which they trace the events that transformed Europe. Twenty-five years after the spectacular events that triggered the collapse of communism in Europe, the organisers of the campaign are once again raising questions about that watershed. They are showing young people what the world was like on both sides of the Iron Curtain, and they are asking a new generation of Europeans what, in their opinion, has survived of the spirit of community and solidarity of 1989.

The itinerary includes street-art projects, city games, meetings with opposition activists, joint filmmaking and a collaborative blog.

Who is behind this project?

To make the project happen, European Network Remembrance and Solidarity has brought together ministries of culture and major institutions dealing with twentieth-century history in Poland, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, and the Czech Republic.

Main organiser: European Network Remembrance and Solidarity

Co-organisers: National Centre for Culture (Warsaw), Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship (Berlin), Research Institute and Archives for the History of Regime Change (Budapest)

How is Europeana involved in the event? And why?

Europeana will be on the Freedom Express to help promote the Express’s aims and journey through social media and other communications. It also means I get the opportunity to introduce the other participants to Europeana 1989. A workshop with the participants was organised while they were in Gdansk. The1-hour workshop introduced the group to the Europeana 1989 project and highlighted some of the fascinating stories that have been preserved as a result of the project throughout Central and Eastern Europe. We will also be holding a collection day for Europeana 1989 while the group is in Berlin. The Freedom Express participants are all invited to take part in the collection day and to meet members of the general public that bring along their stories. They’ll also have the opportunity to get involved in the process of digitisation.

How did you get involved?

I applied like everybody else. I have a strong interest in the events of 1989, even more since I began working for Europeana and got involved with the Europeana 1989 project. I used 89 Voices as a basis for my application - an oral history project that aims to record and preserve 89 fascinating firsthand accounts from individuals who experienced the fall of communism and the reunification of Europe. It worked, and I was selected as one of the final 20 from over 100 applicants from across Europe.

The tour begins, Europeana 1989, CC BY-SA

How will you represent Europeana on the trip? What will you be doing?

I will be using the trip as an opportunity to deepen my knowledge of the events of 1989 and speak to the pivotal protagonists of that time, directly. Personal stories, memories and experiences can help others to understand what it was really like to live in the period and they provide a different perspective. And by capturing them for Europeana 1989 and 89 Voices, we can share the experiences of this important period in our history widely online today and for future generations. So I will also continue with my work on the 89 voices project, as well as update media and contribute to Freedom Express and Europeana blogs. Every opportunity on the trip is used to interview and photograph participants, organisers, guest speakers and general members of the public. And I will also be on the other end of the microphone, taking part in interviews based on my reflections for a number of documentaries that will be produced surrounding the Freedom Express.

What sort of updates can people look forward to from you?

You can expect new 89 Voices to be uploaded regularly, as and when stories are preserved. You will also find regular updates via Europeana 1989’s social media channels, in particular on Facebook and Twitter. In addition, along with the other 19 participants, I will be contributing to a collaborative blog on the Freedom Express.

Facebook: http://facebook.com/europeana1989

Twitter: http://twitter.com/europeana1989

Europeana blog: http://blog.europeana.eu

Freedom Express blog: http://1989.enrs.eu/blog/

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