In the footsteps of ancestors. Genealogy of Bialystok in practice | workshops

We invite you to a genealogy workshop for adults

In the footsteps of ancestors. Genealogies of Bialystok in practice

hosted by Marta Raczyńska-Kruk and Łukasz Karpecki

October 17, 2026, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Ludwik Zamenhof Centre (Bialystok Cultural Centre), 19 Warszawska Street

ticket: PLN 30 — can be purchased at the box office of the Ludwik Zamenhof Center and the Forum Cinema and online at bilety.bok.bialystok.pl

On the same day at 15:00 we also invite you to a meeting around the book by Dr. Marta Raczyńska-Kruk “Homo Explorans. Geographies of Genealogical Memory in Contemporary Poland”.

We encourage you to bring one important photograph of your ancestor and your laptop or tablet (not necessary).

Participants of the genealogy workshop will gain knowledge and practical skills in conducting genealogical searches, both in digital and stationary databases and archives. In addition, they will get acquainted with the basics of the workshop of a social archivist and the possibilities of using ethnography in genealogical research.

The workshop will be led by cultural anthropologist Marta Raczyńska-Kruk (WGSR UW) and linguist Łukasz Karpecki (IJP PAN)

Workshop program:

Introduction to Genealogy: The Importance of Family and Local Histories

Between genealogy and ethnography and social archiving: oral history, storage and digitization of collections

The practice of genealogy in Bialystok: historical and regional context

Online databases for searching genealogical information

Source databases on the network

Workshop part: reading of registry documents

What are noble cards?

How to find a great-grandfather who was in America?

AI: Transkribus and eScriptorium: reading and translating documents