Verteld Verleden (Oral History)

Throughout the Netherlands audio recordings are stored with voice testimonials of people who themselves have experienced a piece of Dutch history. This valuable audiovisual heritage will be made searchable via the Internet through the project Verteld Verleden. On Thursday 27 May The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision, Data Archiving and Networked Services, the Meertens Institute and Aletta, Institute for Women's History, launched this project.

During this kick-off it was explained how the project ‘Verteld Verleden’ will link modern technical capabilities to a rich Dutch tradition of ‘oral history’ research: constructing interview collections for the benefit of historical science. The project, funded from the scheme ‘Digitalisering met Beleid’ (Digitisation with caution) will run for a period of two years. In 2012, a web portal will be launched where Oral History collections will be made accessible to the general public.

In 2012 it will be 50 years ago that a member of the Institute for History of the Groningen University asked the Haagse Post for the recordings of a series of interviews with prominent Dutch, an initiative that is often seen as the start of Oral History Research in the Netherlands. More information on Oral History and this project can be found via the website Verteld Verleden: http://www.verteldverleden.org.