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Windrush Archive Project — Young People Preserving Living History
Windrush Archiving Project — Young People Preserving Living History
At Voyage, we have always believed that the stories of our elders are not just our history, they are living, breathing foundations for who we are today. That's why we are proud to be in the heart of an exciting and growing partnership with Hackney Archives, working together to document, preserve and celebrate the extraordinary experiences of Hackney's Windrush generation. And as with everything we do at Voyage, our young people are leading the way.
The Project Has Launched
We are thrilled to announce that this project is officially underway. In a landmark moment for our young people, they recently attended a workshop at Hackney Archives, hosted by the brilliant Dr Etienne Joseph. This was not a passive classroom experience, our young people were immersed in the world of professional archiving, learning first-hand how stories, photographs, documents and personal ephemera are collected, catalogued and preserved for future generations. It was an inspiring, eye-opening session and a real taste of what lies ahead.
For many of our young people, it was the first time they had stepped inside an archive, and the first time they truly understood the weight and responsibility of what we are doing together. The work we're doing together here will outlive all of us, and is an important step towards preserving the amazing lives of our elders, their stories, and their struggles.
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Building on the Book
This project grows directly out of our Hackney Windrush Elders book, the result of over a year of interviews, oral history work, community visits and deep intergenerational collaboration. That book, launched to an audience of over 100 Hackney elders, young people and community stakeholders, captured the remarkable lives of Caribbean elders who arrived in Britain full of hope, faced hardship with extraordinary dignity, and helped shape Hackney into the vibrant, diverse community it is today.
But we always knew the book was not the end of the story. It was the beginning of the next chapter.
A Digital Exhibition — Coming Soon
Our young people are now preparing to take those stories even further. They will soon be working to create a digital exhibition of the Hackney Windrush Elders book — bringing these stories to life online, making them accessible to audiences far beyond Hackney, and ensuring they are preserved in a format fit for the future.
This digital exhibition will be a powerful, visual celebration of the Windrush generation's legacy, shaped and built by young people who have sat with elders, heard their stories, and taken real ownership of this history. It is community heritage work at its very best.
Real Skills, Real Experience
This project is also a meaningful work experience opportunity for our young people. Across every stage, from the archive workshop with Dr Etienne Joseph, to the interviews with elders, to the creation of the digital exhibition — young people are developing professional, transferable skills in oral history, archiving, digital content creation, research, and community engagement.
These are not tokenistic roles. Our young people are not observers. They are the researchers, the interviewers, the curators and the creators. They are being trusted with something genuinely important, and they are rising to that challenge with commitment and pride.
At Voyage, young people are at the heart of everything we do. Not as an afterthought. Not as beneficiaries sitting on the sidelines. But as leaders, contributors and changemakers who are capable of extraordinary things when given the right opportunity, the right support and the right belief.
Why This Work Matters
With every passing, we lose a story. The Windrush generation was invited to help rebuild Britain after the Second World War. They came with courage and hope. They endured racism, hardship and, for many, the deep injustice of the Windrush scandal. Yet through it all, they built lives, raised families, formed communities and gave everything to make Hackney the place it is today.
These stories deserve to be told properly. They deserve to be archived with care, celebrated with pride, and passed on to generations who will never have the chance to sit across from these elders themselves. That is exactly what this project sets out to do.
By bringing together Voyage's young people, Hackney's Caribbean elders, and the expertise of Hackney Archives and Dr Etienne Joseph, we are creating something that will last long after all of us have moved on. A permanent, accessible, living archive of voices that must never be forgotten.
This project is currently in progress — watch this space for updates as our digital exhibition takes shape.