About

The diverse communities in Scotland have a long-established cultural heritage at various levels, including art, storytelling, traditions and music, which have historically been recognized as an exceptional aspect to their cultural identity.

 

However, historical hindrances and exclusions in many host countries has impacted negatively on the diverse communities leading to misinterpretations such as imposed stereotypes and discriminatory practices that have led to isolating these communities, as well as disadvantaging their members from advancing their citizenship and active participation equally, and in celebrating their cultural heritage and identity.

 

POVESTRY was created in 2020 by a group of volunteers who shared the commitment and aspirations to encourage active citizenship and equal participation of the diverse Romanian and Eastern European communities in the arts, storytelling and cultural heritage through the delivery of focused arts and multicultural programmers, educational workshops and events at local, regional and national levels. The aim is to inspire active citizenship showcasing the diverse cultural heritage for the Romanian and Eastern European communities in Scotland and beyond leading to improved active citizenship and enhanced participative democracy.

 

Stories contour our journey throughout our life. Whispered around the fire, sung on green fields, written in letters and old manuscripts, remembered through laughter and tears, stories reflect what and how we learn, from teachers in our family and from teachers who lived years before we were born. Stories are part of our identity, individually and as a world community. Stories break barriers within ourselves and bring us closer to a free existence in solitude, as well as in collaboration with everyone around us.

 

Povestry is a storybook that moves beyond language, canonicity, political frontiers, and archetypes to unlock the voice spoken through folklore and heritage across the world, to uncover our shared landscape of storytelling. The name, Povestry echoes that movement beyond borders, shifting from the Romanian ‘poveste’ to the English ‘story’, mirroring the two landscapes and looking towards others, discovering the shared, the equal, the one voice telling the story of life. Povestry imagines storytelling as the path towards reflecting a multicultural community where everyone has the voice and responsibility of both the listener and the storyteller. Thus, Povestry reflects stories from diverse cultures and folklore with the objective of advancing the arts and heritage, of promoting race equality and diversity, and of celebrating democratic citizenship in a multicultural Scotland stimulated by international dialogue. Through celebrating and progressing cultural heritage via storytelling and advancing intangible cultural heritage for all, POVESTRY believes that we can work together to promote and enhance an energetic society enchanted by community cohesion at various levels. This, in turn, can inspire, promote and instigate a dynamic and proactive platform for progressing our inclusive national identity as equal citizens of Scotland.

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