National Family History Month

Each August in Australia and New Zealand we celebrate National Family History Month.

My Genimate, Shauna Hicks is the voluntary coordinator for this event (in Australia) which is an initiative of AFFHO. All around Australia family history societies and groups, libraries, commercial organisations and individuals host events that promote our hobby/passion. Shauna enters these all these onto an online calendar so that we can see what is on offer in our local area.

In addition Shauna has created challenges for both individual and family history groups: 31 Activities for Researchers and 31 Activities for Genealogy/Family History Societies during NFHM. These are useful exercises not just for Australians but for all family historians.

And what about me?  I am attending a few events during the month and I have organised two events for my local family history group.

In addition I am hosting a Geneagala series of Google Hangouts on Air on Sunday 30th August. Because the Geneagala is an online activity it is open to genealogists all around the world. As a Worldwide Genealogist you are invited to join me and your friends downunder for this event.

Looking forward to August!

The end of June has arrived rather quickly, which means one more month until we hit August. August is a rather exciting month because it is National Family History Month (NFHM) in Australia! 

Woo!

I discovered National Family History Month in 2012 when it was originally a week in August. It was implemented by the Australasian Federation of Family History Organisations (AFFHO) in 2006 as a week long event in August, however, was expanded to a month in 2013 (The Australasian Federation of Family History Organisations Inc, 2012). Expanding to a month allows for more participation from societies and other organisations, and also allows for greater public participation.

So what happens during NFHM? Well, events are conducted all over Australia and New Zealand that focus on genealogy and can include seminars, talks, workshops, and open days to name a few. Events can be held by genealogical and family history societies, libraries, plus many other organisations! Those that wish to hold an event can add it to the calendar on the NFHM Website. This allows everyone to see what events are being held in their relevant location. In Queensland, there are events being held in Rockhampton, Bundaberg, Gladstone, Cairns, Noosa, Moreton Bay, and Brisbane plus a few other places. If you cannot attend an event, there are many things you can do to celebrate NFHM in your own way such as going to cemeteries, visiting your local Archives, and even little things like scanning family photos and organizing your family history information. There are also online events this year. One of those online events is a Google Hangout on August 1st, which will be hosted by the lovely Jill Ball. You can also keep up to date with NFHM on the Facebook Page, which passed 1000 likes the other day by the way! Yay! This year the launch is being held in Canberra at the National Archives of Australia and should be awesome for those that attend!

I cannot end this post without acknowledging the wonderful Shauna Hicks.  I was fortunate enough to meet Shauna when I attended the launch of NFHM last year in Brisbane. She has been the sole coordinator of the National Family History Month in Australia and does a fantastic job!

Anyway, here's to an exciting National Family History Month downunder! 

Oh, if any of you wish to see the video I did about my time at the launch of NFHM last year, it is here.

I might have forgotten to post this when I arrived in Sydney last night, but better than late than never!

Until next time genea-friends.