One of my colleagues received an email last week about your Ugandan fashion extravaganza and we would love to be able to involve your organisation, your members and your designers in our current project – the Commonwealth Jubilee Time Capsule. The capsule is a unique global history project collecting stories from all over the Commonwealth using innovative media to mark Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012. The Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) is looking to engage people of all ages in their own country’s history, and the international affairs that have drawn us all together over the past 60 years.

Calling all Ugandan Diaspora!

One of the areas that we are especially interested in is the movement of Commonwealth nationals around the world and we are keen to hear your Diaspora stories, about a day in the last 60 years that is meaningful to you, your family and your community. Someone from your organisation could even upload pictures and videos from the fashion extravaganza to the capsule or interview the musicians and designers that are taking part and upload their memories of the day or any other commonwealth memory they may have.

A small example we would like to share with you is that of Gabrielle McGuinness, a UK school pupil who interviewed her mother about her emigration to Guyana in 1969. (Gabrielle went on to win a mini RCS competition to present Her Majesty’s bouquet in Westminster Abbey on Commonwealth Day this year with this story.)

http://www.jubileetimecapsule.org/discover/capsool/id/a7300b655c

Drawing this social history archive together through a range of innovative media, we plan to create a truly unique resource to enable teachers, universities, academics, writers and beyond to engage in world events in an accessible and informative manner.

We have memories from the Commonwealth Secretary General talking about women, Don McKinnon (the former New Zealand Prime Minister) talking about a day he met Mugabe and John Howard (the former Australian Prime Minster) talking about cricket; plus hundreds more personal memories of political changes, national days, tsunamis, sport, apartheid and more here: www.jubileetimecapsule.org

We are keen to hear your stories and reach your communities, both those who are on and offline. Please do contact us me on melissa.bennett@thercs.org  or +44 (0) 20 7766 9227 if you have any questions.

I shall look forward to hearing from you and it would be great to hear any ideas that you have about how you could be involved in this project. If there are any stories from your community that you believe are especially interesting and deserve special attention we may be able to arrange interviews at our London office.

Melissa Bennett

Jubilee Time Capsule Steering Committee

Tel: +44 (0)7738 291216
 
See here for the Commonwealth Jubilee Time Capsule, the RCS' new initiative and exciting global history project: www.jubileetimecapsule.org
 

Tel: +44 (0)20 7766 9227

Fax: +44 (0)20 7930 9705

www.thercs.org/youth
The Royal Commonwealth Society is a Registered Charity in England and Wales and a Body Incorporated by Royal Charter. Registered Charity No: 226748. Registered office: 25 Northumberland Avenue, London WC2N 5AP.