In 1938, a huge British Empire Exhibition took place in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow, UK. It showcased the achievements of the British Empire and attracted nearly 13million visitors over its six-month duration. With the outbreak of World War 2 in 1939, this was the last ever British Empire Exhibition, now largely forgotten. Yet the event remains relevant to the study of British social, cultural, economic, industrial, and political history. In particular, in contemporary times, it is crucial to re-examine the impact of colonialism and the legacies left by the British Empire.

“Decolonising the British Empire Exhibition of 1938 through Augmented Reality Narratives” research project explored what contemporary Glaswegians think about the Empire Exhibition; educates on Britain’s colonial history; highlights ‘forgotten’ or oppressed voices; and provokes critical re-readings of shared heritage. This cross-disciplinary and cross-generational learning is achieved through narrative co-design, the explicit inclusion of minority voices, and geo-located Augmented Reality (AR) learning tools.

‘Decolonisation’ recognises that colonialism has social, cultural, and psychological effects. It questions who had (and still has) the power over knowledge of history and decentres this power by working with those who were (and still are) marginalised. This paper focusses on the decolonial conceptual framework and the important methodological and ethical considerations of representing multiple viewpoints within learning materials. Furthermore, working with racially minoritized communities (including refugees) on potentially upsetting or provocative topics requires a particular ethical approach to achieve best practice. A ‘polyvocal’ approach takes all perspectives and opinions to be valid, even when they are contradictory. The paper analyses the polyvocal methodologies used: participatory co-production of a range of different narratives; their delivery through “Empire Retold”, an innovative Augmented Reality (AR) geo-located mobile phone application; and collaborations with local groups and schools to maximise learning. The project also foregrounds some of the counter-narratives, wider contexts, and different interpretations of the Exhibition, from 1938 to today, to re-introduce this complexity into the way we learn about and understand history.

This paper critically analyses the overall approach and results. It identifies lessons learned and future directions for education from a decolonial or anti-racist perspective. It emphasises that history and social education are not a single ‘correct’ narrative, there are (and always have been) multiple interpretations of Britain’s colonialist past. The paper’s key contribution is to demonstrate how multiple voices, opinions, and experiences can be ethically collected and fairly represented in innovative digital tools for teaching and learning, leading to a deeper understanding of local history and communities and giving a more rounded and representative view of British heritage.

The research led to informal learning through a range of workshops, several exhibitions highlighting forgotten histories, a free AR mobile app providing place-based immersive learning experiences, a desktop learning tool for those who cannot visit Bellahouston Park, and a wide range of lesson plans for schools covering topics relevant to colonialism and local identities. These are all freely available on the project website.

Keywords: Decolonisation, augmented reality, mobile technology, minorities inclusion, polyvocality, place-based learning, history education.