People's Collection Wales

The People’s Collection Wales (PCW) website is dedicated to the story of Wales and its people and is free to use. It is a place to discover, learn and contribute your story of Wales alongside stories and content provided by other people and organisations. People’s Collection Wales represents an innovative approach to collecting, interpreting and discussing Wales’s cultural heritage in an online environment.

Led by Wales’s national heritage institutions, People’s Collection Wales brings together a wide range of partners from different fields to share tools, resources, skills and expertise. The website is supported by a programme of activities to explore new and exciting ways of collecting, exploring, discovering and sharing the stories of Wales and its people. The programme will continue to develop exciting tools to bring our heritage and history to life.

People’s Collection Wales is funded by the Welsh Government, and is a key commitment in the Programme for Government 2011-2016. The programme’s activities support key agendas such as digital inclusion, lifelong learning, cultural tourism and pioneer a range of innovative technological applications through partnership working.

Where are we now?

The initial development phase from 2008-09 to 2010-11 was managed by CyMAL. The website was launched at the National Eisteddfod in August 2010, and continues to be updated and developed.

From 1 April 2011, People's Collection Wales is delivered by partnership led by three national cultural and heritage bodies:

• Amgueddfa Cymru-National Museum Wales
• National Library of Wales
• Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales.

Each of the lead partners receives funding from the Welsh Government to lead on specific work strands which contribute to the overall programme. The partners are jointly responsible for service delivery and development, co-ordinated by the Programme Director, Rheinallt Jones.

CyMAL continues to take a supporting and monitoring role and works closely with the federated partnership.

How can my organisation get involved?

Work is ongoing to develop solutions to make it easier for local museums, archives and libraries to contribute different types of material from their own collections, and support other bodies to do the same. Pilot projects run during 2011-12 will provide useful information and experience. People’s Collection Wales will be providing more information for potential stakeholders and contributors in the coming months.

A copy of the People’s Collection Wales initial marketing pack has been distributed to museums, archives and libraries in Wales, and to other partners and stakeholders. This marketing pack outlines the benefits of being involved in the programme; gives an introduction to using the website and online tools; and provides details of support that is available.

More guidance is available on our People's Collection Wales resources page (see left hand menu.)

Grants

CyMAL offers grants to encourage local museums, archives and libraries to work with voluntary sector organisations to create new content for People’s Collection Wales. Please go to our Grants page for more information.

Further information

Please direct any specific queries to the Programme Director, Rheinallt Jones rheinallt.ffoster-jones@museumwales.ac.uk or use the contact form (external link) on the People’s Collection Wales website.

Useful links

People's Collection Wales blog (external link)
People’s Collection Wales Frequently Asked Questions (external link)