National Oral History Association of New Zealand
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
1 February, 2011

Oral History Conference – Voices of Identity

Respected researcher of Aboriginal history, Australian Lorina Barker, will be the keynote speaker at the National Oral History Association of New Zealand (NOHANZ) two-day conference in April.

Lorina, who is an associate lecturer at the University of New England in New South Wales, has developed oral history methods for recording Aboriginal history, that are culturally appropriate and accessible to the communities involved.

“Lorina’s work is very relevant to our conference theme, Voices of Identity in a Globalised World,’ says NOHANZ President, Rachael Selby.

‘We chose this theme because people in many different cultures and communities seem to be looking back to their roots with growing interest, and wanting to affirm their personal or local identity in a rapidly changing world. Oral histories are often about identity, whether it’s through recording eye-witness accounts of past events or recording memories of former customs and past ways of life.”

Other speakers at the conference, which will run from Saturday 2nd to Sunday 3rd April in Rotorua, will cover such topics as immigration and refugee experiences, religion in New Zealand culture, the changing roles of women in society and Māori language preservation.

“The conference will be an exciting event to anyone with an interest in history in general, “ Rachael says, “as oral history brings the past to life through people’s recollections.”

People involved in oral history range from individuals wanting to record the life history of a family member, to community groups gathering memories of their suburb, church or club, to writers and academics researching books and theses. The NOHANZ conference will also attract librarians, who manage the archiving of oral history collections and make them available to the public, and museum people who use oral history material for exhibitions.

ENDS

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