Whether you’re a history buff, or just a curious person, there’s a new tool to help you learn about local surroundings.
“Hear, Here” — an initiative that combines a phone service with prerecorded audio clips about historical events —has made its way to London.
Plaques with a phone number will be set-up around the city. Those who encounter the plaques are asked to call the number, where they will hear a recorded history of something notable that happened at the site.
“It might be a story about a person. It might be a story about something that happened at this place, like an event, or it might explain the significance of a place, like a park,” said Michelle Hamilton, a public history professor at Western University.
In the first phase of the project, the plaques, which can be identified as orange signs, will be located at about 30 sites throughout the city.
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Both recent and past history will be available, Hamilton said.
The project is a cooperative effort between students at Western University, researchers, and the city. Students in the history department are collecting and curating the recordings.
“We’re also looking for the public to participate. When you go about writing a book, generally you sit in the archives and you’re alone. You do your research and you write and there’s not a lot of community involvement,” Hamilton said.
“We want to reverse that.”
The cost is relatively small and will be covered by existing cultural funding.
The project will begin in the Grosvenor-Piccadilly area and expand to SoHo in 2019.
— With files from Victor Young
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