Co-production, heritage and community

By Dr Liz Jones, Commercial Engagement & Research Development Officer, Awen Institute, Swansea University; and Professor Alan Dix, Director, Computational Foundry, Swansea University.  The heritage, culture and history of communities can nurture a sense of belonging, and yet it is also precarious.  Troedrhiwfuwch, in the South Wales valleys, was once a thriving mining village. It was steadily abandoned during the late 20th century, as landslides threatened the village. Two houses and the war memorial are all that are left of Troedrhiwfuwch. Despite having little physicality left to the village, the spirit of the community remains and has been bolstered by the care and attention that its history has been given by those who want to give its past a voice. Since March 2021, we have been working with the community, helping through coproduction to organise their historical archive, collate and research information and develop digital technologies for preserving the historic legacy of the village for future generations. Coproduction between the village and Swansea University have helped the village in their endeavours to: Begin restoration of the village war memorial and garden Be guided by the community in how to organise their vast archive Design digital methods to showcase and share the archive information so that it can be accessed widely by the community and beyond. As with any co-production exercise, it was important to embed the principles of equality, diversity, accessibility and reciprocity in putting coproduction into action [SCIE15], and there was a period of mutual enculturation.  On the way we built an understanding of what it means to be part of the community.  This was accomplished principally through story-telling, often focused around digital artefacts, or walking the ground itself.   On the other side, the community members built an understanding of the potential of digital technology to help them preserve, organise and disseminate their heritage materials.  This was facilitated by the production of early envisionments using PowerPoint scenarios and paper and card low-fidelity prototypes.  The project embodies ways in which scholarly skill and expertise might be embodied in tools and sustainable practices that enable communities to create and manage their own digital archives.    Currently resources are in development at the early prototype stage but we envisage these will be available for use at some future point. For more information contact: elizabeth.joy.jones@swansea.ac.uk https://aweninstitute.com/blogs/preserving-the-historic-legacy-of-troedrhiwfuwch/ https://aweninstitute.com/blogs/troedrhiwfuwch-remembrance-service-and-open-day/ References: [SCIE15] Co-production in social care: What it is and how to do it.  SCIE Guide 51. Social Care Institute for Excellence. October 2015. https://www.scie.org.uk/publications/guides/guide51/what-is-coproduction/principles-of-coproduction.asp