Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month celebrated in style in Lancaster
Members of the Traveller community from Lancaster have celebrated the first ever national Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month. The month was marked with an evening exhibition at Skerton Learning Centre organised by Lancashire County Council's Traveller Education Service and the Adult College.
(Media-Newswire.com) - Members of the Traveller community from Lancaster have celebrated the first ever national Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month.
The month was marked with an evening exhibition at Skerton Learning Centre organised by Lancashire County Council’s Traveller Education Service and the Adult College.
Britain’s 300,000 Gypsies, Roma and Travellers have lived, worked and travelled throughout Britain for over 500 years, yet are rarely mentioned in British history.
This year, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities across the country joined forces with central government backing to celebrate their rich history, culture and contribution to Britain’s past and future.
Displays of work produced by local Travellers included arts and crafts by the Traveller Family Learning Group during courses run by the Adult College, which had also held taster sessions for the Traveller community on family history, reminiscence work and digital photography.
Lancaster Traveller Youth Group, Lancashire Young People’s Service and The Dukes DT3 held a photography exhibition featuring images of today’s young Travellers.
NCBI Lancashire’s Welcome Stories Project worked with the Traveller Youth Group to record their stories and experiences of living in the district and displayed the booklet, CD and posters produced by the project.
One of the youngest participants was four-year-old Joseph Doran, who won first prize in the pre-school category of the GRTHM Poster Competition which was launched in the House of Lords in February.
There were thousands of entries so it was a real achievement that Joseph, from Kingsway Playgroup in Heysham, won a first prize and Lancaster Traveller Youth Group won a runner-up prize.
Joseph was unable to travel to the House of Lords to receive his £100 prize in June as his family were at the horse fair in Appleby, so he was presented with it at the evening by special guest the mayor of Lancaster, Keith Budden.
Eileen Mullervy, team leader for the Traveller Education Service, said: “Lancaster and Morecambe Travellers and friends certainly made the first ever Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month in 2008 a month to remember and I am sure it is an event to go on from strength to strength next year.”
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