‌On Thursday, 25 June, a unique Connecting Communities to Industrial Heritage Exchange will be held in the Swansea Museum Collections Centre, Landore. 

This event will celebrate existing research, strengthen networks, and set an agenda for future community historical research in the Lower Swansea Valley. Following the success of the Hafod-Morfa Copperworks Regeneration Project, this event will inform future funding bids, specifically a forthcoming application to the Heritage Lottery Fund, for a living history laboratory at the Hafod-Morfa Copperworks (HMCW).

The event will also address topics such as:

• How would the community like to celebrate, consolidate and expand the portfolio of community research completed to date?
• How can the development of a living history laboratory facility at HMCW facilitate further community history research in the Swansea Valley?
• How can community-based research contribute to the heritage led development of the HMCW?
• How can digital innovations expand the reach and impact of community heritage projects and research?

During the day, workshops will be held to explore how research how community projects might develop around key themes, such as:

• Movement of goods and people.
• Human impact, disability and human disaster.
• Conservation and preservation of the physical and natural landscape.
• Community, social change, faith and identity.
• Identity, achievement and aspiration.

Professor Huw Bowen, the Swansea University lead of the project, said: “This exciting event, which is part of the nationwide Connected Communities Festival organised by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, allows us to celebrate community research projects undertaken by the College of Arts and Humanities with a large number of local organisations. By holding the event on the site  of the former Hafod and Morfa Copperworks we will be seeking ways of connecting community research to industrial heritage so that we can further enrich our understanding of the development and impact of Swansea's global copper industry. We hope to extend our range of local partnerships and inspire new projects that will engage people and communities across the Swansea Valley.”

Click here to view the day’s agenda, or to register your place. 

Learn more about the Hafod-Morfa Copperworks Regeneration Project.