Cowra Voices wins Oral History NSW Award and shortlisted for the National Trust Heritage Awards

HeritageArts Outwest October 27, 2020
COWRA VOICES​ is a geolocative storytelling app exploring Cowra’s unique history of peace and friendship with Japan.
A huge congratulations to the Cowra Voices team for the shortlisting in the National Trust Heritage Awards and on WINNING the Oral History NSW Community History Award.

Cowra Voices storytelling app was launched in Cowra as part of the 75th anniversary commemorations of the Cowra Breakout in 2019.

Stories about ten key locations of symbolic importance in Cowra history as well as personal stories of five people buried in the Cowra Japanese War Cemetery are included in this app, enabling a more intimate engagement with history. ​Cowra Voices ​brings to light stories that remain unknown or unacknowledged, yet belong to all Australians.

The app includes stories of Wiradjuri elders, personal histories of people buried at the Cowra Japanese War Cemetery, and local stories of grassroots peace-building by members of the Cowra community.
You can download the app on Google Play and the Apple App Store.

The app was nearly four years from inception to completion. Six design students from Tokai University’s Sapporo campus visited Cowra in 2018 as part of their work on Cowra Voices.

Award winners

The Oral History NSW Community History Award acknowledges the work of individuals or community groups who are recording the histories of their communities. The winner of the award receives $500

Shortlisted

The shortlist and winners for the National Trust Heritage Awards are assessed and decided by an independent panel of judges across 12 categories, the Cowra Voices project being shortlisted under the Education & Interpretation category.

The Cowra Voices project was funded by: The Australian Government through the Australia-Japan Foundation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; ​Cowra Council; The Bruce and Margaret Weir Trust; The Nancy Shelley Bequest Fund (Quakers Australia); The Japan Foundation, Sydney; and The Cowra Breakout Association.Partners: Cowra Shire Council, Cowra Tourism Corporation, Arts OutWest, and Nikkei Australia.

Image credit: Sana Hyuga