Eisteddfod AmGen 2020
Having been held every year since 1861 (apart from the year war broke out in 1914), the modern Eisteddfod in Wales will be held again this year but in a new digital format – Eisteddfod AmGen (AmGen is the Welsh word for ‘alternative’). Launched back in May, most events and activities will be held during the traditional first week of August, running from Saturday 1 August to Saturday 8 August, making most elements of the traditional Eisteddfod available for everyone to enjoy from the comfort of their own homes. At the outset of the project, Eisteddfod Chief Executive Betsan Moses announced, “Like everyone else, we are extremely disappointed that we are unable to host the festival in Ceredigion this year. But we’re determined that everyone will have the Eisteddfod experience, albeit in a very different way, this year…With a chance to enjoy iconic lectures from recent years, live music sets and activities for learners, AmGen’s weekly programme will feature the same eclectic mix as a visit to the Maes.”
Along with its national heritage partners, the Commission will be supporting this year’s festival with a number of talks (held in Welsh), exhibitions and activities. These will be available via Y Lle Hanes Facebook page. Commission events will mainly take place on Tuesday 4 August under the themes Cofnodi ein Gorffennol ar gyfer y Dyfodol / Recording our Past for the Future and on Wednesday 5 August with Cymru a’r Môr/ Wales and the Sea. Commission talks on Tuesday will include a panel discussion on the Future of Places of Worship in Wales, chaired by Professor Nancy Edwards (Chair of the Royal Commission), and the four panellists, The Right Reverend Wyn Evans, Dr Cai Parry-Jones, Dr D. Huw Owen and the architect Elinor Gray-Williams (10am); A short introduction to Coflein and its uses in family and local history by Rhodri Lewis (12pm); A History of Aerial Photography in Wales in Twenty Pictures by David Thomas (2pm,Maes D); Memory Archive (a discussion of free archive materials suitable for reminiscence work with people living with dementia) by Dr Reina van der Wiel (3pm, Maes D); A short introduction to the List of Historic Place Names by Dr James January-McCann (5pm). These will be followed on Wednesday by Making the Link: Lloyd’s Register and the National Monuments Record of Wales (an overview of a project that uses Lloyd’s Casualty Returns to enhance Welsh shipwreck records, including stories of some of the ships and lives lost in Welsh waters)by Dr Meilyr Powell (10am) and Recording Dinas Dinlle Hillfort by Hywel Griffiths, CHERISH Project (2pm). There will also be a number of Commission’s exhibitions running throughout the week: Historic Ceredigion; ‘The Story of a House on a Hill’ (by the Ceredigion Heritage Youth Panel); Resources of the partnership U-Boat Project, 1914-18: Commemorating the War at Sea; the Commission’s latest publication, Cymru a’r Môr: 10,000 o flynyddoedd o Hanes y Môr/ Wales and the Sea: 10,000 years of Welsh Maritime History. In addition, there will be a range of children’s activities and many other talks and events created by our Lle Hanes partners: Amgueddfa Cymru—National Museum Wales, Cadw, and People’s Collection Wales.
Please visit Y Lle Hanes Facebook page for further information.
Don’t worry, if you miss any of the Commission’s talks and would like to view them at a later date, they will all be available on the Commission’s Youtube channel.
We hope you can join us!
31/07/2020