Events

The 23rd International Oral History Association (IOHA) Conference is scheduled for Kraków, Poland from 16-19 September 2025.

The theme of the conference is Re-Thinking Oral History.

Biennial conferences of the International Oral History Association (IOHA) allow for reviewing the global conditions and problems of oral history, regardless of the actual conference theme. This time, however, the organizers of the 23^rd IOHA Conference call on oral historians worldwide to consciously rethink the idea and practice of their discipline.

Oral history today faces both old and new challenges with long-lasting and unpredictable consequences: the crisis of liberal democracy, growing tensions in international politics, climate change with its devastating outcomes on human life, increasing inequalities, wars, and mass migrations. All of the foregoing not only affect the conditions in which oral history is made, but also compels us to rethink its very aim. For Central and Eastern Europe, the full-scale Russian aggression in Ukraine beginning in February 2022 and its consequences are an especially painful reminder of that. Though oral history was, and still is a part of history, it has always been conscious of the responsibility (oral) history has for the current society. Aware of that mission, we encourage the global oral history community to return to the core questions of our practice: what kind of histories should we tell and pass on to the current and future generation

Find out more about the conference at: https://ioha2025.conference.pl/.

See the Call for Papers – https://ioha2025.conference.pl/en/call-for-papers. The deadline for proposal submissions was 31 August 2024.

The annual meeting of the Oral History Association will be held from 15-18 October 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.

The year 2025 marks 250 years since the Declaration of Independence was signed. For this year’s Annual Meeting, the Oral History Association will convene people around the question: What is America?

Participants will reflect on the ways in which American identity is documented, framed, and perceived by its citizens and the world.

Just as Americans have proven their resilience and capacity for change, oral history, as a field, has been undergoing a paradigm shift towards radical inclusivity. The Annual Meeting serves as a gathering space to amplify practitioners finding new possibilities, generating new approaches, reassessing best practices, and recalling and refurbishing the fundamentally democratic impulse of oral history practice.

Find out more about the conference including the program, workshops, tours and registration:

• Oral History Association website

Australia’s only accredited oral history training, delivered by Dr Elaine Rabbit. The cost is $395 inc GST. Oral History WA members discount price: $360 inc GST.