• Poppy Broach on green jumper

    A day of Remembrance

    This morning during our workshop at Edgbaston Community Centre, we observed a silence at 11am for Remembrance Day. It is 101 years since the guns fell silent at the end of World War One, but also 101 years since those who were so affected by that war were first able to use their vote in the December 1918 General Election. Prior to the war, only 2 in 5 men were able to vote – young men under 30 and working class men were excluded. So many were asked to shed their blood, but not to decide who governed them, who sent them to the battlefields, or who would make important decisions about…

  • The group in front of a banner reading 'Women Workers'

    Black Country Living Museum Visit

    On the 23rd of October, the People’s Heritage Co-operative, along with members of Edgbaston Community Group, and Saheli Hub, visited the Black Country Living Museum, to further explore some of the themes discussed in previous sessions. As a new intern to the People’s Heritage Co-operative, it was great to meet the members of both community groups and get to know a bit about them, their ideas about various aspects of both their own heritage, and that of the city, as well as their hopes for the future of the project. Participants expressed the value of trips the organisation arranges, allowing them to keep busy, expand and discuss their knowledge, and…

  • On the lookout for Artists

    The People’s Heritage Co-operative and our community partners are seeking Artists to support their community heritage project, ‘Represent’.

  • Campaigner, Reporter, Broadcaster – the life of Mrs. Carol Ring

    Many individuals who were active in the campaign for women to gain the vote were incredibly dynamic women who were pioneers in a variety of fields. Historian Alison Smith has traced one such individual. We're very pleased to share the remarkable story of Mrs. Carol Ring.

  • Birmingham Heritage Week: Creative Writing Workshop

    We are delighted to be participating in this year's Birmingham Heritage Week. Join Birmingham historical novelist and biographer, Fiona Joseph, for a hands-on Creative Writing session around the theme of how Birmingham’s people gained and used the vote from 1918 onwards.

  • Take 5

    Our partners at The Active Wellbeing Society have been supporting Represent as we explore how a community heritage project can impact on the health and wellbeing outcomes of participants.

  • Inside the Golden Box

    Above the 4th Floor of the Library of Birmingham is a golden ceiling. Above the ceiling is where the secrets are hidden, where the stories wait to be told. The golden box, visible from the outside of the building, is where Birmingham's archive collections are stored. It's a treasure trove belonging to all Brummies - and we couldn't wait to share some of its contents with the groups we have been working with...

  • Using the vote

    In the current political climate, the default answer of people when asked if they are political seems to be that they are generally bewildered or disillusioned with politics. When so many people seem disenfranchised by ongoing political soap operas, it can be hard to appreciate the importance of our right to vote.

  • Creating (and defending) Civic Space

    One of the motives behind developing Represent was our desire to probe into what the extension of the franchise really meant to people in Birmingham a century ago and to consider what we can learn as we navigate 21st Century challenges. Here we share a blogpost we wrote recently which reflects on June's 'Heritage Meet' outlining some of the discussions with friends and colleagues in the community heritage sector about developing this important work.