Event: Democratic Access or Privileged Exclusion? A Workshop on the Preservation of and Access to Refugee Archives Monday 13th July, 2pm to 6pm

Democratic Access or Privileged Exclusion?

A Workshop on the Preservation of and Access to Refugee Archives

Monday 13^th July, 2pm to 6pm
Room SD.1.04, Docklands Campus, University of East London
http://democraticaccess.eventbrite.co.uk

The University of East London’s Library at Docklands has been the home of the Refugee Council Archive for over a decade. According to the Archives Hub database, there are several other archives documenting refugee lives which co-exist in London and beyond. Questions arise as to who accesses these archives? Are refugee archives well-represented in relation to the preservation of lived experience of refugees and migrants? If not, why is this? Who get excluded from refugee-archives, and in what ways? How could we improve access to refugee research archives?

This half-day workshop led symposium seeks to find answers to the above questions. It is a launch event of an outreach project, “Democratic Access or Privileged Exclusion: Civic Engagement through the Preservation of and Access to Refugee Archives”. In February 2015, under the auspices of the UEL Library and Learning Service, a bid was submitted by the Refugee Research Archives at UEL and the Centre for Migration, Refugees and Belonging, focusing on the preservation of refugees and migrants lives through engaging with local refugee communities.

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Awarded with an internal fund from the University of East London, we sought to use existing Archives held within the UEL Library as a basis to forge new partnerships between communities, students, academics, archivists and practitioners within the field of refugee and migration studies. At this end of project workshop we wish to share our findings with you which can help to generate a discussion on how to make archives as accessible, inclusive, representative and democratic. We will showcase the oral history of local communities and refugees made accessible through the new website of Living Refugee Archive.

All welcome. The event is free but registration is required for catering and space purposes.

Please register before end of June at: http://democraticaccess.eventbrite.co.uk

Join us to discuss what can be done to improve access to refugee archives.

Programme

13:30             Registration, Tea and Coffee.

14:00              Welcome by Thomas Shaw (Head of Collections and Digital Library, University of East London)

14:10              Who is the archive for? Knowledge, power and the (re)production
of  legacies of community, oppression and struggle, Dr Tom Vickers (University of Northumbria)

14:20              Archiving oral history: some possibilities for engaging with communities, Dr Toby Butler (Birkbeck and University of East London)

14:30              Listening to Lived Experience and Narratives of Refugees in London, Dr Rumana Hashem and Paul V Dudman (University of East London)

15:00              Making archives accessible and democratic: Breakout sessions

15:35              Tea and coffee break

15:50              Vice-Chancellor’s greetings – Developments relating to civic engagement within UEL, Professor John Joughin (University of East London)

16:00              Mapping the couplet of exclusion and access: A roundtable discussion and group feedback. Chair: Dr Georgie Wemyss (CMRB, UEL)

Discussants: Dr Ben Gidley (COMPAS, Oxford), Maurice Wren (Refugee Council), Sarah Menzies (Evelyn Oldfield Unit), Dr Toby Butler (Birkbeck and UEL), Paul V Dudman (Refugee Archives, UEL), Dr Rumana Hashem (CMRB, UEL), Dr Tom Vickers (Northumbria University).

17:00              A tour to the UEL’s Archives over drink and snacks reception

Hosted by the Refugee Archives and Library and Learning Services of University of East London.

Maps and details of how to find the UEL Docklands Campus can be found here:  http://www.uel.ac.uk/about/campuses/docklands/

Please let us know if you need a parking space on campus as we will need to take further details from you in order to arrange for a campus parking permit.

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A Civic Engagement Project at the Refugee Council Archive, University of East London.

A Civic Engagement Project at the Refugee Council Archive, University of East London.

Under the auspices of the UEL Library and Learning Service, a bid was submitted by Paul Dudman and Dr. Rumana Hashem, which focuses on the Refugee Council Archives at UEL. Entitled, “Democratic Access or Privileged Exclusion? Civic Engagement through the Preservation and Access to Refugee Archives,” this project seeks to use existing Archives held within the UEL Library as a basis to forge new partnerships between students, academics, archivists and a community groups.

The aims and objectives of the project include:

a)    To engage with local communities in an attempt to establish a Living Refugee Archive and to promote and enable accessibility and engagement with our existing collections. This will be documented through the collection of oral histories.

b)    Student engagement through: (1) The contribution of oral histories and archival materials; (2) To help engage with local communities with Archive-led activities and to help the local community/refugee groups understand how the Archives which UEL holds can be relevant to their own community; (3) To participate at the launch event at the end of the project workshop, and to ensure the participation of a considerable group of community representatives in the workshop; (4) To help and assist with new archives where appropriate.

c)    To pilot a Refugee Living Archive website to incorporate digital content collected as part of our Oral History Project and, if successful, this could lead to a continuation of this project beyond the initial timescale outlined in the bid.

d)    Creation of Refugee Archives and History Group to help facilitate continued discussions and civic engagement activities, and to help encourage interaction between archivist, historians, NGO’s and the communities themselves as to how the refugee experience can be preserved and documented.

Further detail of the project can be found on Blog:- refugeearchives.wordpress.com/

At this early stage of the project we are undertaking consultation meetings with members of academic staff at UEL and with our external partners in order to ascertain potential interest and involvement in relation to this project. Any UEL academic is very much welcome to get involved in this project and help us to build living refugee archives.

The project coordinators are interested in meeting with any academic and research centre to discuss this project. Should you have any thoughts or feedback please do get in touch with Paul Dudman ((p.v.dudman@uel.ac.uk), the Archivist responsible for the Refugee Council Archives at UEL, and Dr. Rumana Hashem (r.hashem@uel.ac.uk), a post-doctoral researcher at the Centre for Migration, Refugees and Belonging (CMRB) at UEL.

Web:- www.uel.ac.uk/rca
Blog:- refugeearchives.wordpress.com/
Twitter:- @refugee_archive / @PaulDudman
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RefugeeCouncilArchive
Refugee Research Jiscmail List:- http://bit.ly/16Nknq0

Opening Hours for the Refugee Council Archive at the University of East London

This post provides details of the Archive opening hours for the Library and Learning Service: Archives at the University of East London.  The Refugee Archive and the British Olympic Association Archive are currently located on our Docklands Campus Library whilst the Hackney Empire Archive is currently located in our Stratford Campus Library.

The opening hours for both Docklands and Stratford Archives are as follows:

Docklands Archive                                Stratford Archive

Mondays:  1pm – 6pm*                               By Prior Appointment Only

Tuesdays:  1pm – 6pm*

Wednesdays:  1pm – 6pm*

Thursdays:  1pm – 6pm*

Fridays: 1pm – 6pm*

Sat/Sun:  Both Archives Closed

* Morning appointments between 10am and 12pm are available by prior appointment.  The Archive will be closed between 12pm and 1pm for lunch.

We would recommend that, especially for external users, that you contact us in advance of your trip in order to make an appointment to use the Archives.  This enables us to ensure that a member of staff will be on hand to assist you.

To make an appointment, please click on the link to our Make an Appointment page on our new UEL Archives Portal website..

Further information can also be found on all of our archival collections by contacting the Archivist, Paul Dudman, on 020 8223 7676 or by emailing: library-archives@uel.ac.uk.

Easter Open/Closure Times over Easter, 2011

I just wanted to take this opportunity to let you all know the opening and closure times for the Refugee Council Archive over the Easter period.  The relevant details are as follows:

Opening Hours for Week Beginning : Monday 18^th April

Monday 18^th April : 1pm – 6pm

Tuesday 19^th April : 10am – 6pm

Wednesday 20^th April: 10am – 6pm

Thursday 21^st April:  10am – 1pm

The Archive will then be Closed between Friday 22 April and Friday 6 May and will re-open from Monday 9 May as usual.

 I will be away on annual leave for most of this period so if you do have any enquiries, please send them to me via e-mail at: p.v.dudman@uel.ac.uk and I will do my best to respond to hem on my return to the office.  My last day in the office before Easter will be Thursday 21 April between 10am and 1pm.

Details of the Docklands Library opening hours over the Easter period can be found on the website at:  http://www.uel.ac.uk/lls/about/openinghours.htm

Refugee Archive News Update

First of all, an update on Archive opening hours for December 2010.  The opening times will be as follows:

Mondays:  1400 – 1700

Tuesdays:  1000 – 1300

Wednesdays:  1000 – 1800

Thursdays: Closed

Fridays:  1000 – 1300

The weekly newsletter will also now be suspended until the New Year 2011, but we will try and keep the Refugee Studies blog updated with relevant information, for example, recent posts include:

• New Publications and Journal Volumes
• News Stories
• Websites and Events

Archive Weekly Newsletter Number 4

The latest copy of our new weekly Archives Newsletter is now available.  Copies can also be found online at:

Our Website:  http://www.uel.ac.uk/rca/newsletter.htm

Our Blog:  https://refugeearchives.wordpress.com/weekly-newsletter/

The newsletter is also distributed, along with other useful messages and emails, via our Email list.  Further details can be found at:  https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=REFUGEE-RESEARCH

Archive Weekly Newsletter Number 2

The latest copy of our new weekly Archives Newsletter is now avaialble.  Copies can also be found online at:

Our Website:  http://www.uel.ac.uk/rca/newsletter.htm

Our Blog:  https://refugeearchives.wordpress.com/weekly-newsletter/

Many thanks,

Paul

Refugee Archives Summer Opening Hours 2010

Please read the whole email, including the important paragraph at the end.

Please find below the revised opening hours for the Refugee Archive at UEL and the Docklands Library over the summer months.  We have tried to keep the Archive open every day.  However, we would recommend that you either make an appointment or contact us in advance of your trip just to confirm that the Archive will be open and staffed on the day you wish to come.

Our contact details are:  020 8223 7676 (reading room) or 020 8223 7817 (Paul Dudman) or 020 8223 6462 (Caroline Lam) in the office.  Our email address is library-archives@uel.ac.uk

Alternatively, if coming to the Docklands Campus is a problem, you might want to make use of the SCONUL Card service which can give you access to other University libraries in London.  Further details can be found on the Library website by following the link below:

http://www.uel.ac.uk/lls/services/sconulfaq.htm

Archive Summer Opening Hours

The summer opening hours for the Refugee Archive will come into effect from Saturday 22 May, 2010.

Therefore, the revised opening hours from Monday 24 May, 2010 will be as follows:

Mondays:                   1pm – 4.30pm

Tuesdays:                  1pm – 4.30pm

Wednesdays:            10am – 1pm

Thursdays:                 1pm – 4.30pm

Fridays:                      10am – 1pm

Sat / Sun:                   Closed

These are also available on our website at:  http://www.uel.ac.uk/rca/using-rca.htm#top
Library Summer Opening Hours

The summer opening hours for the Docklands Library start from Saturday 5 June.

So the building closes at 9pm on Friday 4 June, then it’s:

Monday-Friday: 9am-9pm (Security only from 5pm)

Saturday: 10am-5pm (Security only)

Sunday: closed

Potential for Possible Disruption

It is possible that there may be further disruption to these opening hours over the course of the summer.  As soon as we have further information we will of course let you know, but at the moment disruption to the archive may be caused by:

i) Building works in the Library.  Work on the library air conditioning system is due to start on Tuesday 8 June. The work itself is supposed to take place between 9pm and 6am. However, there is a small possibility that the library may close at some point.

ii) Scanning of the British Olympic Association (BOA) archive.  We are due to have a company on site in the Archive to scan materials from Monday 14 June for a period of between 2-4 weeks.  Disruption of the archive service during this period is inevitable and we strongly recommend that you make an appointment for to access the Archive as we cannot guarantee that the archive will be available fro general access during this period.

iii)  Staff leave.  There will be staff on leave over the summer months and we hope this will not cause too much disruption to the service.

CARA Event at UEL

The Council for Assisting Refugee Academics (CARA)  would kindly like to invite you to an upcoming event

‘Academic Freedom in the 21st Century’
15th April , 5:30-6:30pm
University of East London, Docklands campus, East Building G08

A panel discussion of three academic refugees, chaired by Mark Stephens,  Index on Censorship.

Wherever there is a dictatorship or totalitarian regime, its first quarrel is with those who oppose. They are often found in universities, places where teaching and research should flourish. Around the world, university lecturers and researchers can face persecution, imprisonment and torture for challenging those in power. The three speakers will discuss the personal threats and difficulties in carrying out their academic work in Rwanda, Cameroon and Iraq.

We hope to see you there,

For further questions please email adi.cara@lsbu.ac.uk

Revised Saturday Openings (New Date in April)

Since my earlier posting regarding Saturday openings for the Refugee Archive during Semester B 2009, I am now able to confirm that the Archive will now be open on a Saturday in April to tie-in with The 6th Annual Forced Migration Student Conference**.

I hope these dates will be fixed now but if the need arises for any alterations then these will be advertised well in advance.

The Archive will therefore be open on the following Saturdays during the times listed:

• Saturday 7 March: 10am-5pm
• Saturday 28 March: 10am-5pm
• Saturday 25 April: 10am-5pm**.
• Saturday 9 May: 10am-5pm
• Saturday 16 May: 10am-5pm
  

These dates are also available on our web site at:

http://www.uel.ac.uk/rca/using-rca.htm#saturday

If you have any comments, then please let us know my leaving a reply to this posting or by contacting us at: library-archives@uel.ac.uk.

** Further details on The 6th Annual Firced Migration Student Conference can be found be clicking on the following link:

http://www.uel.ac.uk/ssmcs/programmes/postgraduate/refugeestudies/FMSC09.htm

Posted in: Refugee Studies.

Refugee Archives – Changes to Opening Hours and Staff Availability

This is a quick note just to update everyone on some forthcoming changes to the opening hours and staffing arrangements for the Refugee Archives and to detail the Saturday Opening timetable for Semester B.

There are three main strands to this message and these will be detailed as follows:

1). Due to unforeseen circumstances, Paul Dudman, (the Archivist), will be away from the office for a two week period between Monday 2^nd February and Friday 13 February. A reduced Archive service will therefore operate during this period and please enquire at the Library Enquiry Desk for further information, (Tel: 020 8223 3434).

2) From Monday 16rh February when Paul Dudman returns to the Archive, he will only be available in the Archive during the normal office hours on Mondays (9am-6pm) ; Tuesdays (10am-7pm) ; and Wednesdays (9am-6pm). For al day on Thursday and on Friday mornings until 1pm, the Archive will be managed by a member of Library Staff subject to staff availability. Please bear in mind it might take a little longer to answer your enquiries so please be patient.

3) The initial plan for Saturday openings in Semester B will be to open the Archive on the dates listed below. Hopefully there will not be any changes to this list but it is still provisional until I can confirm the dates on my return. I will let you know as soon as possible when the official dates are know.

The provisional dates are therefore as follows:

Saturday 21 February : 10am-5pm

Saturday 21 March : 10am-5pm

Saturday 28 March: 10am-5pm

April No Saturday Opening Possible.

Saturday 9 May : 10am- 5pm

Saturday 16 May : 10am – 5pm.

Many thanks in advance for your help and co-operation.  Any questions then please email us at: Library-archives@uel.ac.uk.

Yours Sincerely,

Paul Dudman

Archivist.

Posted in: Refugee Studies.

Refugee Archive: Christmas 2008 Opening Hours

The Refugee Archive at UEL will continue to open at the normal times listed on our web site until Wednesday 17 December, the last day of teaching for the MA in Refugee Studies course this semester.

The Archive will then be Closed for Christmas between Thursday 18 December and Sunday 04 January. The Archive will re-open at 9am on Monday 05 January 2009.

Important dates for your for your diary are therefore:

Wednesday 17 December, 2008: Archive Open, 9am-6pm.

Thursday 18 December, 2008 to Sunday 04 January, 2009: Archive Closed.

Monday 05 January, 2009: Archive re-opens, usual times.

Monday 12 January to Friday 24 January, 2009: Reduced Service available to enable Archive stock-checking to be carried out.

Full details are also available on our website at:  http://www.uel.ac.uk/rca/using-rca.htm#Xmas

Posted in: Refugee Studies and News.