Jackie Ross

Pioneering North East women celebrated

By Lewis Walker - 25 January 2023

A series of events and activity has helped the North East shine a spotlight on some of the region's well known women.

A team from RGU's School of Creative and Cultural Business hosted a range of educational and inspiring events in November as part of the 2022 Being Human Festival, aiming to celebrate the region's women who perhaps don't receive the recognition they may deserve.

The project was initially stimulated by discussion in the Press & Journal around the lack of memorials to any women other than Queen Victoria in Aberdeen. RGU's Professors Sarah Pedersen and Peter Reid and Dr Rachael Ironside used the Being Human Festival as a tool to change this and, as well as organising events, even launched Quinepedia – a digital biographical dictionary focused on women in North-East Scotland.

Despite some of the activities falling on the weekend of Storm Arwen, the events were very well-attended and showed an appetite from Aberdeen City and Shire to amplify the achievement of their region and its female stars.

Quinepedia, still active and being added to, has received thousands of online views and an abundance of keen contributors. 

As part of the festival, the team from CCB also helped to create a soundscape of female voices from around the region who explained which North East women they celebrated most and why they may not have had as much attention or recognition as they deserve. The full video of this can be viewed below:

The campaign continues to generate interest in various libraries thanks to a touring exhibition. Professor Sarah Pedersen will also soon be speaking at Stonehaven library on the topic of Quinepedia in March.

Image shows Doric storyteller Jackie Ross speaking to youngsters at Aberdeen City Library on 'Weel-kent quines: stories of the North-East’s women'.

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