We are delighted to announce that the Letters of 1916 project has again been awarded a SFI Discover grant from Science Foundation Ireland (SFI). The funding will allow the Letters of 1916 project to continue its outreach, with a second series of Community Engagement Events to be held in Donegal, Tralee, Sligo and an (as yet!) undecided location in 2016.
Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) awards funding for science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) educational and public engagement projects in Ireland. Supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise, and Innovation (DJEI) and delivered through SFI’s education and outreach programme SFI Discover, the funding will support initiatives designed to encourage people of all ages to develop an active and informed interest and involvement in STEM.
Attendees at the Letters of 1916 community engagement events will learn about the technology and the practices used to create and manage a digital archive, as well as how to ‘read’ advanced discovery methods (including network analysis, topic modelling, and geospatial mapping). There will be opportunity to take a hands-on part in the processing of historical documents for inclusion in a digital archive and experience the full range of activities from digital imaging to processing to uploading letters using the Omeka content management system. Participants in the workshops will also be tutored on how to create machine-readable transcriptions of letters using XML/TEI tags. By taking part, attendees will gain a new insight into, and appreciation for, the technologies behind a Digital Humanities project such as Letters of 1916.
The SFI Discover Programme seeks to promote the awareness and engagement of the Irish public with science, technology, engineering and maths by catalysing, inspiring and guiding the best in STEM education and promotion. It is a key element of SFI’s Agenda 2020 Strategy which includes the aim of having the most engaged and scientifically informed public in Ireland. The Letters of 1916 team is delighted to be part of the SFI Discover Programme and engage with a wider public in 2015.
If you have any suggestions for a location for a fourth Community Engagement Event in 2016, please get in touch on letters1916@gmail.com!
Click here to read more about the SFI Discover Programme funding and participating projects.