On the 24th of May 2006, the Voices Project was launched by Norwich Mind in collaboration with BBC Voices. It was attended by the diverse members of the Norfolk community. It was an evening filled with amazement, excitement and discovery.
Those present were moved by the six different stories shared by people who came from six different countries – each with a unique personal story to share. One storyteller shared her experiences of being of mixed heritage – British and Indian – and how her visit to India to meet her Indian relatives created a poignant memory for her. Another storyteller talked about his country of birth, Lithuania, and how he misses his friends and country – a country of ‘love, love, love.’ And then a mother from Ukraine opens her heart about bringing up her daughters in Norfolk, and how, slowly, they are leaving behind their Ukrainian heritage. The other three stories are just as fascinating and make one stop and reflect upon their own roots and life in this country.
There were old friends and new faces present. The attendance was definitely a pleasant surprise. The Origins Suite was overflowing – and it’s not just due to the lovely mix of food that was provided for those present. Although the pyramid of pappadums was a sight to behold!
Read below the feedback provided by some of those who were there, and went home clamoring for more stories!
Thank you very much for the invitation to the Voices Project at the Forum in Norwich the other week. It was most impressive - in content, presentation and impact. This will be a major contribution to better understanding and collaboration between the rich ethnic cultures we are privileged to have in Norwich. It will also be a good piece of social history to put on archive. I could tell that it had real impact with the audience and the contributors themselves. The meal at the end was a nice touch, and gave time to meet the contributors and mingle. It was also a very good curry! I am glad it was Mind that took the initiative here, with the BBC and support from English Heritage. That also helps in breaking down stigma and barriers. Congratulations to you, Gary and all involved. I wish you every success with the roll-out of the project. It deserves a very wide audience.
Dr Peter Brambleby MBBS, DCH, FRCP (Edin), FFPH
Director of Public Health, Norwich PCT
Honorary Senior Lecturer, University of East Anglia
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I thought that the six films presented at the launch event provided an interesting assortment of personal narratives which effectively drew attention to a cultural diversity which people rarely associate with Norfolk. I liked the fact that the participants were drawn from a wide range of backgrounds, encompassing people who have only recently arrived and have yet to put down roots, and others who have been here many decades, or even grew up here. Despite the variety in style and content, however, it was interesting to see how certain common themes emerged, such as the attachment to a distant homeland, and the issues faced by those straddling different cultures. All in all, I thought the event provided a very good introduction to what the Voices Project is all about, and I very much look forward to seeing more.
Noah Gins
St. Martins Housing Trust
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Thank you for the invite I very much liked the venue and presentation. I thought that the stories were a good selection but not what I would call fully representative of our diverse ‘family’. If the intention was to show the journey through to this point then I think it was a little light in material. I think that we should not focus on negativity but equally we need to make the people who will never have to make those kind of journeys (our safe populations) aware of what migrants have to endure in order to get a life that they want or that they still seek. We should include comment on what they think of our society given that they have unique experiences from outside our society and we could take suggestions from the travellers as to how we could make it easier for others who want to make the same journey.
Glenn Scoular
Norfolk Constabulary
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The venue was a great idea, just ended up a little too small and hot (thanks to people like me by bringing a whole team, sorry Joy). The menu was fantastic by avoiding extra worries and concerns on who eats what.The Voices Project has given me a life present, my 8 year old daughter was with me and she has been always concerned about her Greek-Portuguese background, and mostly of the time hiding it, in that day she told me ” Mum can we be part of a movie like this?” I said yes and asked her why? This was Ina’a answer–”because we could show it to lots of people and then they would know that we are all from diferent colours and countries but we all leave on Earth, because Mummy thats the true.”
Alex de Almeida
Herois Do Mar
Sol Project
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Thanks for this. I enjoyed the digital stories. They give an impression of living in Norfolk which is unique to the individuals. I liked the variety of the stories and how people had decided to portray themselves and their story. From feedback from BC scholars, they are interested in taking part and giving their impressions and stories of what it is like to live in Norwich. Concept is good, raises the profile of Norwich as a destination for people coming here to settle and live from around the world. I enjoyed the launch event, good to meet people.
Ms Laura Fellows
Regional Manager East of England
British Council
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Thank you for inviting me to the launch of the ‘Voices Project’. I found the story told by participants very interesting. As Marcus Garvey said, “a man without a history is like a tree without any roots”, we as ethnic minorities need to tell our story’s to ensure our experience, our history, our joy, our sorrows and thoughts are heard by everyone and kept for the future generation. Every face has a story to tell and this project allowed people to tell their side of the story. The project is also a good tool to tackle stereotyping, ignorance and prejudice. It will also promote harmony and community cohesion. Let’s face it ignorance breads hate as Plato said “better be unborn than untaught, for ignorance is the root of misfortune.” Sharing our personal story will contribute towards our collective knowledge, desire, and our hope for the future. It’s also a testimony to our achievement, illumining choices we have made and to our collective wisdom.
Thank you again.
Abraham ESHETU
Diversity Advisor
Operation Command - Community Safety
Norfolk Constabulary
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Just a note to say how much I enjoyed, and how impressed I was with, the VOICES film narratives. I thought they were all really wonderful: touching, inspiring and with flashes of humour. You’ve all done a great job so far – and I wish you all the very best from now on, too. Thank you so much for inviting me to the launch. I do hope I’ll have another opportunity to see some more!
Debbie Campbell
Norwich Amnesty Group
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This event was very good. I didn’t thought that there will be so many people. But it was really fantastic. Movies were great, and the stories were interesting. It’s good that people has a possibility to improve them selves. It was great experience for my self as well. After event I got new ideas and more planes. And I met many useful people.
Aras Tikuisis
St Martins Housing Trust
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On behalf of St Martins Housing Trust, can I say thank you for what was a thoroughly enjoyable and informative evening.
Paul Cheeseman
St Martins Housing Trust
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Many thanks for the invitation. I enjoyed the evening very much. I found the digital stories fascinating, and heartwarming. It was good to have reinforced the things that are important to all of us: family, friends, home, a feeling of belonging. I think the Voices Project is a great idea, and I’d like to see it extended to the stories of other Norfolk residents who are discriminated against, or disadvantaged for whatever reason.
Joan Emerson
Norfolk County Council
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I really liked the stories, the different ways people presented themselves, would love to see more of these. The project itself is invaluable as it gives us access to the ‘hidden history’ and contributions made by people from diverse communities; a positive spin but perhaps ignoring the difficult experiences that so many people have in coming here. So, a lovely event, and much appreciated! Any more coming up?
Sue Gee
County Asylum Team
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Thanks very much for arranging the launch. The concept is very exciting and the event was most engaging. It was very well organised and I was sorry to have to leave early because I had arranged another commitment thinking that it would be quite a short meeting. I look forward to hearing about the output and the outcomes of the project.
Derry Kelleher
Norfolk County Council
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It was an inspirational event and one that touches my heart. Seeing all the images of such courages human beings enduring hardship and shine through like a ‘bright star’ on a dark night. I feel very lucky to have experienced the community spirit on that special day.
Soo Mollahan
Hellesdon Hospital
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I would like to congratulate you for the quality of the extracts. These were very touching stories. They made us feel the person in question. We could see how much our personal background, where we come from, what we lived before, makes us what we are now. For people who do not understand much about diversity, they could see the richness/wealth of what diversity brings in to the country. They could also see how difficult it can be, even if you are genuinely positive, to settle down in a foreign country initially and that therefore even a smile from a local can make a big difference to how people will feel settling in Norfolk.
I loved the fact that each story was so different. That each story gave a small insight about something related to the home country. All of them were extremely well done, and there was never any repetition, from one story to another, because the story came from the person themselves.The length of each story was just right. I liked all of them. The Zimbabwe one was poignant and very real. My heart felt a lot when I watched it. As a foreigner myself, I could also identify with some of the things that Amalia and Marina said.
An additional point is that when you have been away from your home country for a long time, when you go back, you are different. You are not the native that you were anymore because you do not feel like that yourself but also because people see you as different. However, if you have an accent in the UK, you remain a foreigner. I found the first extract of having a double-identity fascinating. I have bilingual children myself and although they feel mostly English, they are also very open-minded because of their double identity and tend to make friends easily with people in the same situation, without even knowing why. The launch itself was great. Nice venue. Great to see so many people. I really hope that you will carry on because it is fascinating and you can see that it is definitely done by the BBC, which means at a very high standard, just like any excellent BBC documentary.
Valerie Gidney
INTRAN
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The Launch event was well organised. The 6 video clips provided an excellent introduction to the project. They all told a unique story and the personalised presentation is a nice way to highlight the personality of the storyteller and their unique character. Such a project is very good for Norfolk especially as a project for young people to explore their identity and family roots. This is an excellent project to promote community cohesion and diversity in Norfolk. Well done!
Rowena Kerr
Diversity Manager
Norfolk Probation Area
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Personally I enjoyed every moment of it. The digital stories were short but meaningful because it represents the individuals in each segment. I am sure if we browse in the internet, most of the picture will be much clearer. The project itself is very interesting because it allows individuals to share their own experience and views about the place and the communities they involved with. About the event itself, I felt very comfortable. I was able to meet and to know more minority groups of people who were very friendly. The launching went swiftly. More time were given for mixing around. To me this is good.
Azhar Md Adnan
Post graduate student, UEA
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Insightful and inspirational. An interesting snapshot of individual character adaptation to life transitions and the impact of geographical relocation. An innovative project which enables individuals to share their life story in their own way. I would have liked to have heard about the psychological challenges of settling/resettlement in Norwich. We may learn something of coping strategies employed by other cultures and gain insight into the precursor of mental health. Good for future educational purposes as well as personal archive. Good venue, good food.
Beverley Hallpike
Nurse Consultant-Dementia Care