National Conference July 2004

The 'Who do we think we are?' event held at the British Museum was intended to stimulate a national debate about heritage and identity within the UK.

More than 300 delegates attended from the fields of heritage, culture, central government and social science. Experts and commentators including Professor Paul Gilroy, Billy Bragg, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown and Peter Bazalgette were asked to help outline the role of heritage in identity, looking at world views, community views and exploring issues associated with painful heritage and the media's treatment of heritage and history.

A small exhibition gave representatives from two Citizen's Juries the opportunity to talk about their experiences and display the scrapbooks created by participants in Glasgow and Slough. A variety of HLF-funded projects attended from across the UK: The Northamptonshire Black History Project, the Scottish Travellers Project and the Cornish Braids Project all provided a fascinating insight into their explorations of community identity.

Chairman Lord Bragg set the pace for a day of lively interaction and discussion, inviting the audience to contribute at every opportunity. Performances brought colour and life to the day, with traditional and contemporary interpretations of folk music from Jim Moray and Julie Murphy, while poet and performer Shamshad Khan brought moments for thought and reflection. Some humour came from Ruby Wax's unique perspective of the British nation and her experiences since moving here.