Dear reader, one ultimate welcome to my monthly blog posts during my internship here at Glasgow Women’s Library. As my days in Glasgow are hastily nearing their end, my days in the library are slowing down. I am finishing up all tasks I have been working on for the past weeks and months, my results are getting either stored or published (hint, hint) and I am speaking out my first goodbyes to some people while also welcoming new ones.
At the beginning of the month, I participated in one of our bi-annual This Is Who We Are events. This Is Who We Are is especially directed at new volunteers. Even though I was far from new, I learnt a lot about GWL’s history in detail, such as the roots of the project Women in Profile as well as previous exhibitions and their purpose. On top of that, it was nice to see many of the new faces that may greet you in the time to come. Our volunteer coordinator Gabrielle made it very easy for us to get to know each other and I cannot recall any educational event at which I made the acquaintance of so many new people so easily.
In the weeks that followed, I spent my quiet time alone doing research and preparing workshop materials for the Tapestry of Renfrewshire event day at the University of West of Scotland on 27th September. The Tapestry of Renfrewshire event is part of the UWS’s Inspiring Women campaign and lecture series, hence we decided to teach young people more about the history and deeds of women from the wider Glasgow area and especially Paisley. For this purpose, we created a pegging timeline to let our visitors connect interesting and empowering life stories of women with the respective years in which the events took place and we also set up a history quiz. Additionally, we offered a badge-making workshop with a selection of feminist slogans and images. School classes in particular found their way to the campus and it was really inspiring to see so many young people, boys and especially girls, immersing themselves in the rich history of Paisley’s women and the textile industry. I had a lot of fun guiding them through the history timeline and watching them compete against their teachers and comrades but the cherry on the cake was the high number of students leaving the event and wearing their DIY feminist badges with pride. All in all it was a fantastic day.
Thank you for reading through my blog posts and listening to my experiences at this wonderful institution. It has truly been a pleasure and I am incapable of putting into words how thankful I am to each and every person who has crossed my path, taken me by the hand for a while, listened to me, given me unforgettable memories to bring back home with me… the list goes on. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I will be back for one last special blog post tomorrow. Keep your eyes peeled and celebrate the end of my internship with me one last time!
Best wishes,
Jeanette
Jeanette is an Erasmus intern at Glasgow Women’s Library and involved in the National Lifelong Learning Project and Story Café, among other projects of GWL. She started in April and will stay until early October. Her internship here is part of her studies of English and Gender Studies at the Saarland University in Germany, where she grew up, and is supported by Erasmus.
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