Case studies
28 Oct 2026
by Dr Kiran Sahota
Woman speaking into a microphone in front of a large digital sceen displaying a wartime photo of soldiers queueing at a canteen truck.

Kiran Sahota sharing stories from ‘Forgotten India at 80’. (© Believe in Me CIC - Simran)

Why we take part

We want to make heritage fun and engaging and hoped by taking part we could start sharing our migration stories to audiences that often do not engage with heritage.

I have now been involved in HODs for a few years. Each time I have really enjoyed the themes and sharing our stories. I organised my first event in 2025 at a local library in Birmingham. It was really successful and I realised in our feedback that audiences who had never engaged with heritage came to the venue to learn something new.

What we did for HODs

I was excited to create an event this year with the Royal Armouries and really loved the experience. We ran a day of activities with various events to cater to a wider audience, so that they had an option of different ways to engage with heritage:

  • The Royal Armouries museum staff created scheduled times when our audiences were invited to have a tour of the Asian and African gallery, handle objects and artefacts.
  • Our ‘Forgotten India at 80’ pop up exhibition allowed people to engage with untold history that they would not have known. They could free flow through the gallery and ask questions to the historian.
  • For those that wanted to learn more about South Asian history, we had short films and crafts so families could be part of the event without worrying about planning.
Three people stood in front of two pop up banners covered in text and some small images.
‘Forgotten India at 80’ pop up exhibition. (© Believe in Me CIC - Simran)

The entire day was curated to be flexible for audiences to learn and participate without stress.

Working in partnership

I have not worked with Royal Armouries previously and absolutely loved this collaboration. In a meeting, a colleague suggested them as it was a venue my South Asian communities had heard of but not been to before. We both were aligned with making heritage and venues accessible, so this collaboration was a dream.

Bearded white man talking to a group of Asian people in a gallery space next to a model of an armoured horse.

Royal Armouries staff really helped bring the event to life. (© Believe in Me CIC - Simran)

Once the Armouries agreed, we approached Sikh Elders if members would share their family stories of India, connection to world wars and migration. They agreed and with everyone working together we were able to create created an event that welcomed people of all backgrounds to be involved and tell their stories. 

The difference it makes

Participating in HODs with the Royal Armouries has made a very big difference - there is such a demand from communities wanting to engage with heritage and we were able to open the event up to wider audiences. We had lots of stories of migration and met people who were visiting for the first time. Each person that spoke had a story that they wanted to share and together we reflected on the great local community Leeds has and how we build more events around that. We also gained some new volunteers from the local community, and they are excited for next year’s event.

What I learned today was so fantastic. We need more of these events for non historical people. I learned so much from the history told.

Visitor

2026

My organisation has also changed beyond the festival; we are planning how we can help the community feel confident in engaging more with heritage and sharing their own community stories. We have spoken to our supporting partners on helping make heritage more accessible. Some of these were ensuring that the community were able to have library cards so they can access local archives.

Absolutely brilliant! Really informative and inspiring to see stories of people from all backgrounds that aren’t shared or taught enough.

Visitor

2026

Best bits

Hearing everyone laughing and sharing what they have learnt is the best experience. As long as audiences are feeling welcomed, safe and having fun is what this is all about.

My favourite moment was everyone joining in with the event and watching them make new friends. I loved that the Sikh community came forward to tell their stories and they loved their moment of being on stage being heard and seen. I am so pleased this collaboration with Royal Armouries, HODs and Sikh Elders allowed us to ensure community history and voices were being heard.

I attended with my family and really enjoyed the whole programme.

Visitor

2026

Overcoming challenges

We only had two and a half months to set this up so finding a space in Leeds was a challenge. We were really pleased that Royal Armouries were able to accommodate us and allow our communities to visit for the first time.

Not having a large budget was also a challenge, but the Royal Armouries paying for refreshments really helped ensure the elders and audiences were in a safe space sharing their stories. Open communication, realistic timelines and manageable goals is what made this event successful.

View across urban canal of large 5 storey modern grey building with hexagonal glass tower at one end.
Royal Armouries in Leeds (Wikimedia Commons)
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Kiran’s top tips!

  1. My advice to anyone thinking of participating would be go for it and have fun. Audiences love being involved and as long as people are having fun that is the main thing. Sometimes things do not go to plan and that is okay, we had different times for talks, so everyone was able to wander around the Royal Armouries.
  2. Communication, ensure that you are telling people what the event is about and how they can contribute. The ladies from the Sikh Elder group wanted to share their stories so we did that and many people in audiences could relate with a story or had a connection to the world wars.
  3. Stay focused, it is easy to want to cover lots of talks/events during HODs, do what you are capable of.

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