Voices of Kosovo

The collection contains twenty nine audio recordings of interviews with summaries and transcriptions, pen sketches, and photos of some interviewees.
The interview include:
13 Kosovars in Manchester
4 returnee Kosovars in Kosovo
1 Human Rights lawyer working in Kosovo who has represented children in Manchester
11 others involved in the humanitarian response
Other material in the collection includes copies of the exhibition panels, project files which includes the evaluation, and images of events and activities related to the project.

GB3228.53/1 Voices of Kosovo in Manchester Project 2014-2016
GB3228.53/1/1 Project files
GB3228.53/1/2 Oral Histories
GB3228.53/1/3 Exhibition Outputs
GB3228.53/1/4 Project Images
GB3228.53/2 Voices of Kosovo in Manchester Project 2019

See also GB3228.15 Moss Side Parents Centre and Education Shop for records relating to the Kosovo project that provided pay activities for Kosova-Albanian refugee families that arrived at Manchester Airport in 1999.

'Voices of Kosovo in Manchester' by Siobhan Brownlie - a study of 11 oral histories from the Voices of Kosovo in Manchester Project, Oral History journal, Autumn 2019, Volume 47, number 2

A transcription of the recordings is available in the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Resource Centre Library Ref: MAN/HI.3/VOI

24 hours notice is required to view this collection. Material will then be accessible through Manchester Central Library Search Room, Manchester Central Library, St. Peters Square, Manchester, M2 5PD. To access this collection please contact: rrarchive@manchester.ac.uk

Manchester Aid to Kosovo (MaK) produced the VOKIM ?Voices of Kosovo in Manchester? project between September 2014 and March 2016. The project recorded and preserved the story of the Kosovar community in Manchester. Many arrived as refugees in 1999, evacuated to the North West in part of a global humanitarian response to ethnic cleansing in the Balkans. Their voices have been captured alongside a selection of the many people who responded to their struggle.

The project was financed by the Heritage Lottery Fund and supported by the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Education Trust.

The project produced various outputs including the oral histories, a mobile multimedia exhibition and education resources. Additional materials and guidelines for schools and learning can be found on www.vokim.org

In 2019 Manchester Aid to Kosovo received additional funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to mark 20 years since the event of 1999. As a part of this project MaK showcased an exhibition in Manchester Cathedral and has been invited to exhibit new work, interwoven with VOKIM oral history, at the National Library of Kosovo and the University of East London.