Nigerian History Project

Altered Images is a three-year heritage project managed by RCT’s Library Service and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The project is working with volunteers of all ages and abilities to capture the diverse stories of RCT’s residents. The project is doing this through training volunteers to conduct and record oral history interviews.

Earlier this year, Altered Images invited YEPS’s Content Creators to work with Hannah Buckmaster from the Altered Images project, and filmmaker, Hugh Griffiths from Lilypad Films, to conduct interviews with members of RCT’s Nigerian community. The young people took up the challenge and recently attended a training session which taught them key interview skills, including how to structure an interview, and gave them the opportunity to research key topics relating to Nigerian culture and heritage, and to prepare questions for the interviews ahead.  

Their new skills were put into action this week, during a full day of interviews at Canolfan Calon Taf in Ynysangharad Park, Pontypridd. The young people worked together and conducted eight interviews which covered an array of fascinating subjects, from life in rural Nigeria, to clothes, food, and a traditional ‘talking drum’! Clips from the interviews will be used in a short film which will celebrate Nigerian heritage, culture, and traditions, which will be uploaded to RCT’s brand new heritage website later this year.