Oral History Survey Underway
Following feedback from interested chapter members, the Finlandia Foundation National History Committee is developing an Oral History Program for chapters so that we may collect and share our Finnish American stories wherever they may be.
This program will provide resources for local chapters to engage in oral history work, including how-to materials covering interviewing methods, recording device information, consent, and archiving, as well as a central platform for sharing recorded oral histories. The stories we collect today will help us to understand our changing community over time. These histories will also be helpful for students, researchers, and descendants of interviewees.
In order to best create a program that serves a variety of needs and interests, we want to hear from you! We are inviting chapters (as a whole unit and as individual members) to participate in a survey so we can learn about resources, interests, and needs that chapters have. Member input will help us make this program as responsive to your needs and interests as possible.
SURVEY CLOSES JANUARY 10
The survey will be available online at https://forms.gle/8Drcv2s1jfyieNvi6 until January 10. Anyone who has questions is invited to contact Hilary Virtanen, History Committee Chair, at hilary.virtanen @ finlandia.edu.
FFN is sharing oral history programs created by its affiliated organizations at the Finlandia Foundation YouTube channel. These include programs by the Finnish Center Association in Farmington Hills, Michigan, which produced the Immigrant Families Remember” series (below), and “Finns in the News” from the Columbia-Pacific Chapter in Portland, Oregon. 