Storytelling – VOICES

The VOICES project seeks to collect and share the personal stories of residents from six case study cities across different countries: Rotherham, Redcar and Middlesbrough in Northern England, and Lauchhammer, Eisenhüttenstadt and Weißwasser in Eastern Germany. Once thriving centres of industry, these cities have since faced significant decline — and we want to hear from those who have lived through these transformations.

Our focus is on listening: what can we learn from the people who once formed the backbone of their communities, only to see their industries fade away?

To uncover these experiences, we are hosting storytelling cafés, inviting residents to come together, share their memories, and explore the untold stories of their past. In addition, we are conducting in-depth interviews and producing a series of podcasts, all of which are featured here.*

Digital archive: OUR VOICES

“Even the coal pennies won’t solve our problems”

Georg (69) looks back on his years in coal in the town of Lauchhammer — a time when hard work meant good money. Today, he views the energy transition with a critical eye.

“People in the village don’t know it was a colliery village”

Beatrice (93) speaks about growing up in the pit village Kiveton, with family having lived in the village ever since the pit was first sunk. She remembers the turbulent times of the miners’ strike and a close-knit community.

“All I remember is the smell of metal”

Anthony (79) worked his way up from labourer to engineer – a lifetime in Rotherham’s steelworks. When the industry faded, all that remained was the memory of pride, camaraderie, and the lingering smell of metal on the skin.

“There used to be so many children in every flat”

Maria (66) talks about her time as a teacher and pioneer leader in Lauchhammer – and how the civics taught in the classroom sometimes did not match the reality in the factories.

* At the request of some participants, the statements published here have been anonymised, and some of the names used are pseudonyms.

Storytelling cafés: share your memories

Have you witnessed the industrial transformation in one of our focus cities and want to share your story? Or perhaps you are interested in supporting our project by offering a meeting place, historical materials or innovative ideas? We invite you to get in touch with us.

All interviews and all information will be treated in strict confidence, and selected statements will only be published on the project website with the express consent of the participants.