Local Voices: Turn your pupils into journalists, historians, archivists, and published authors!

Over the past year, our Local Voices project has seen the children in our schools become the archivists of their communities, capturing the recent history and contemporary geography in a beautiful, published record.

We are thrilled to be offering the same opportunity to schools everywhere, connecting pupils with the people from their localities to document and preserve local history, creating a lasting archive that reflects the unique character of each area.

This initiative not only fosters a sense of belonging and inclusivity but also helps pupils develop important research and documentation skills.

There are numerous benefits of the Local Voices project for children and schools. By participating, children must take a deep consideration of their community and in doing so, they will learn to become generators, recorders, and archivists.

The process involves a series of steps, including identifying and interviewing suitable community members, transcribing interviews, preparing excerpts, and incorporating photographs and artwork.

The end-product of the project is a publication titled Local Voices with your location. This bright, glossy, child-produced compendium will account for, illuminate, and give colour to the school’s locality, providing an entertaining and informative read. These books can engage readers while preserving valuable community stories.

The project aligns with various formal curricular areas such as Oral Language, Reading, Writing, SPHE, Geography, History, Ethical/Religious Education, and Art. Beyond these academic benefits, the project promotes children’s voices, agency, inquiry-based learning, wellbeing, and inclusion. Schools also benefit from the enhanced community engagement and the production of a child-created publication that vividly captures the essence of their local area.

Schools interested in incorporating the programme into their curriculum can benefit from the tailored support for teachers, to guide pupils in creating their community records.

For more information visit emuink.ie; and/or to get involved contact us on info@emuink.ie.