At a symposium in Auckland on 16 April, leaders of the family history organisation, FamilySearch, and guests, looked back on the organisation’s 130 years of gathering, preserving and sharing information to help people connect with their ancestors.
DOWNLOADPresentations and a panel discussion also focused on the future—in particular, how organisational collaboration and technological developments are helping young people learn from their families’ stories to better understand themselves and to be resilient and courageous in a complex and sometimes difficult world.
“Connecting with our past brightens our future,” said one young attendee, Paula Vave, from Auckland.
His friend, Paula Kafalava, said, “Knowing your family history is knowing who you are.”
Another young adult from Auckland who attended the symposium, Lekias Gatoloai, said, “Everyone matters. FamilySearch is all about finding our families.”
DOWNLOADTracy Palaiti chimed in, “Everybody deserves to be remembered.”
Sam Coyle, another young Aucklander, said, “ I like how FamilySearch and other organisations are making family history more approachable and accessible for all ages. Being able to see the direct impact that AI is having on Family History is fascinating.”
Noting the effort required and benefits of learning about family members who have passed away, Meagan Fa’alogo said, “You get out more than what you put in.”
Guest speakers and panelists from FamilySearch as well as librarians, archivists and other records custodians touched upon the advantages of building record collections to benefit humanity. These included collaboration, technological developments—in particular AI—and a joint sense of helping others, including children and youth, to discover who they are by discovering who their ancestors were.
FamilySearch is a non-profit organisation sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The organisation manages the free website, FamilySearch.org, one of the world’s largest repositories of family history information.
Representing the Pacific Area Presidency of the Church, Elder Jeremy R. Jaggi thanked guests for their work in their various spheres of influence to gather, preserve and share family history information with others.
He introduced Rachel Esson, National Librarian of New Zealand, who was the keynote speaker. In her remarks, she shared stories of her parents and her upbringing, and how these memories and stories inform her life in positive ways today.
FamilySearch CEO, Stephen Rockwood, shared a story about his three-year-old grand-daughter, and how he is teaching her about two of her ancestors who share her first name. His hope is that as she grows, these stories will help her understand who she is, by understanding from where, and from whom, she comes. This, he suggested, will help her be resilient and courageous in the face of life’s challenges.
In concluding remarks, Elder Kevin S. Hamilton, Chairman of FamilySearch, thanked all who attended the Auckland event, especially records custodians whose teams and efforts are indispensable in the work of helping individuals remember and be inspired by their families’ stories.
“We believe that God is our Heavenly Father, which makes us all cousins,” he said. “As we understand our families and ourselves more deeply, we will be connected more to one another. In the challenging world we live in, this will lead to changes in our behaviour as we become kinder to one another, as family members in one big family tree of humanity.”
Learn more about FamilySearch here.