GaiaVesterålen collects history of Vesterålen 

16 March 2023

Since the beginning of February, GaiaVesterålen has travelled around the municipalities in Vesterålen to gather historical knowledge about the region in a data platform developed by SINTEF. This will, among other things, constitute the actual content of the future interactive 3D model of Vesterålen of approx. 500 m², and could otherwise be used in future projects in each municipality.

The project’s first involvement of the local population has been through workshops for history buffs, where participants have been introduced to the computer platform and helped to create their own narratives, i.e. coherent stories based on historical material.

Four out of five workshops have now been completed! At the end of March, 28.-30., the last workshop will be held at Hotel Regine in Bø. 

Bilde som viser utstillingsrommet på Øksnes Museum. Person som jobber på datamaskin i forgrunnen, og mange personer samlet rundt en 3d-modell av Øksnes i bakgrunnen.
Første workshop foregikk på Øksnes Museum. Her fikk deltagerne se den første prototypemodellen av Vesterålsmodellen som viser deler av Øksnes og Andøy. Foto: GaiaVesterålen.

Many different people have so far participated in workshops. Some are members of local history groups etc. with a good overview of the municipality’s historic material. Some had historical photos and documents from relatives and wanted to make a connection out of this that could stand as an example. Several also came up with personal experiences of historical events, which were not written down anywhere.

Workshop på Gaia HQ på Sortland. Foto: GaiaVesterålen.

Ever since the start, co-creation with the local population has been central to the GaiaVesterålen project. This is also the case for history workshops, where the participants’ contributions and input have been of great importance. Not only have people contributed stories, they have also provided feedback about both the limitations and potential of such a project, and what expectations and wishes they have. The Gaia team has learned a lot and gained better insight into how to gather historic information in the future. 

Bilde viser to personer som jobber foran en laptop.
Deltagere jobber på workshop på Hurtigrutens hus i Hadsel. Foto: GaiaVesterålen

Do you want to participate?
The last workshop will be held at Hotel Regine in Bø.
Sign up here!
Also, keep your eyes open for future events!

More News

Great attendance and enthusiasm

What exactly is SKREI? The open information meeting held at the end of November gave the audience many answers.

Cozy Christmas workshop in Narvik

Wednesday 29. November there was a cozy Christmas workshop at Narvik Museum. Both families and grandparents with grandchildren showed up and made nice Christmas decorations.

GAIA: Invitation to press conference on digital solutions for climate adaptation

GAIA Vesterålen has been invited to a European press conference where we will have a briefing about the Vesterålen pilot in the RESIST project. During tomorrow’s press conference, we will take a closer look at the role of digital solutions in the research project.