'Diving for Pearls,' an oral history of shipbuilding in Govan 

(Govan, Glasgow, Scotland)

'Diving for Pearls' was a year-long participatory, multi-media project which the Govan & Craigton Integration Network delivered with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Inspired by Clive Langer and Elvis Costello’s song 'Shipbuilding' it explored the cultural, social and economic impact of the shipbuilding industry on the population of Govan by focusing on and bringing together people with migrant histories: from the descendants of Highland and Irish settlers to the more recent arrivals from Europe, as well as asylum seekers and refugees from around the world.

We commissioned Dr Sue Morrison to deliver oral history research training to several teams of volunteers, many of them were recent migrants to Scotland and translators relayed the training to non-English speaking volunteers., which made for some interesting discussions!  Afterwards, the project was able to record and use oral history interviews to learn and disseminate personal stories, shared experiences and common ground behind the shipbuilding industry along the beautiful River Clyde.

www.gcin.org.uk/diving-for-pearls.html

 

 

 

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