Dulais Opportunity for Voluntary Enterprise

The use of video recording in historical research and adult education was first realised at the South Wales Miners' Library in the mid-1970s. Links with an educational centre in the USA prompted the Miners' Library to develop its own programme of video recordings, beginning with the tape recording of Extra-Mural speakers and studio interviews, and then moving to on-location filming. The Second South Wales Coalfield Research Project (1979-1982) made a major contribution, collecting material that was edited to produce tapes such as the Glyncastle Project (GB 217 SWCC:VID/Project/1). Co-operation with other bodies produced more tapes, such as the 1981 Strike (GB 217 SWCC:VID/Project/2) produced with Cardiff Community Video Workshop.

Extra-mural classes organised by the Department of Adult and Continuing Education in what is now Swansea University, were a significant focus of the recording, such as an adult local history class in the Dulias Valley which worked as a research group in producing Maesmarchog Local History Class (GB 217 SWCC:VID/Project/7), a social history of the valley. Several teaching tapes were produced using a range of local historical sources, such as Dan Lewis Remembers (GB 217 SWCC:VID/Project/14), which was widely used in schools, community groups, adult education classes, conferences and colleges.

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