Launching #cycleofsongs, March 31 2014

by Janine Noack

On Monday, March 31, historyworks.tv and Pilot Theatre invited #twitterstorians and various other local people from Cambridge who are involved in the Cycle of Songs project to its launch party. The Cycle of Songs is an attempt to bring together historians, poets, choirs, musicians, and other interested parties to create a festive, fun day when the Tour de France goes through Cambridge on July 7, 2014.

The launch started with a workshop focusing on possibilities for young historians to get involved in media, with a special focus on BBC programs. The workshop was moderated by John Gallagher, one of the BBC New Generation Thinkers.

Helen Weinstein and John Calver (historyworks.tv) started the workshop with their experience producing documentaries and broadcasts for various BBC programs. Their advice for young historians was to be proactive in order to get involved in media. Stories need to be new and fresh, and knowing what has already been produced is key to coming up with good and new ideas.

Fern Riddell, another BBC New Generation Thinker stressed the importance of being passionate about your topic and being okay with saying ‘no’ to projects if they don’t suit you.

Last but not least Paul Lay, editor of HistoryToday, gave a presentation on writing about historical topics for the general public. According to Lay, language is of key importance and many historians do not know how to write a journalistic article. As historians, we need to take this into account and learn to write in an accessible way.

After the workshop, the party started with the Searle Street Band  playing. We had lots of networking opportunities and enjoyed great burgers.

To read more about the contribution of the doinghistoryinpublic.org Team go here

Here are some pictures from the event:

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