About the project
The project ‘Building Loughborough’s Memory Box’ sought to gain an understanding of the town’s heritage by asking for opinions from people who call it home. Their experiences of living and working in Loughborough were shared through storytelling and captured by digital means to share again with the wider community.
Alongside their stories, the researchers—Karen and Alison—built a better understanding of what a place’s heritage and culture can be when it truly reflects the lived experiences of those who know it—whether as their home or as a place they come to for work.
Every participant contributed at least one digital story, supported by the researchers in the first set of workshops. Several storytellers then came back together in the second round to create digital stories on their own.
In total, the project worked with 17 people of various ages and demographics, in seven workshops held in a community hub in the centre of town. The result is a collection of digital stories of Loughborough, past and present, that adds to ‘Loughborough’s Memory Box’.
Platform
Loughborough Stories
Key Activities
– Community Engagement Workshops
Seven workshops at a Loughborough community hub: four on storytelling and illustration, followed by further workshops on creating digital stories.
– Story Collection & Digital Archiving
Participants shared personal experiences through short audio-visual stories. Researchers also contributed to model the process.
– Skill Development & Co-Creation
Participants learned basic digital media skills (e.g. video creation, PowerPoint) with researchers as co-participants to encourage collaboration.
– Community Building
Shared lunches and informal discussions fostered trust, connection, and a sense of value among participants.
– Heritage Exploration
Storytelling explored diverse meanings of “heritage,” culminating in a collated digital archive in the form of the “Building Loughborough’s Memory Box” StoryMap on the Loughborough Stories Platform of the TOWN Observatory.
Impact summary
The Building Loughborough’s Memory Box project has created meaningful change across several dimensions. It fostered strong social connections, bringing together students and long-term residents, breaking down barriers between local and academic communities, and reducing isolation through shared activities and communal lunches. Participants felt validated and heard, with their stories now forming part of Loughborough’s cultural record, reinforcing a sense of belonging and purpose. On a personal level, the initiative led to increased confidence and empowerment, inspiring creative pursuits, new skills, and opportunities for academic and personal growth as reported by both participants and researchers. It also enabled skill development in digital storytelling and visual illustration, helping participants share their narratives effectively. Culturally, the project achieved heritage preservation, creating an archive of 27 digital stories that offer diverse perspectives and contribute to the Loughborough TOWN Observatory as a shared resource, while broadening the definition of heritage to include everyday lived experiences. Finally, the project delivered educational and research impact by modelling participatory approaches that reduce hierarchy, promote authentic engagement, and establish strategies to overcome challenges such as technology access and time constraints. These efforts lay the foundation for best practices in community-based research, and it is hoped they will inspire future initiatives to embrace participatory storytelling and expand the growing collection of community narratives.
Project team and roles
Dr Karen Sung (lead investigator)
Alison Mott, MA PGCE (co-investigator)
StoryMaps Link
