RootsTech Connect 2021 - Day 3 - Inspiration

It is already day 3 of RootsTech. By the way I do realize I am a day ahead of the official day counter but I believe RootsTech actually started on Wednesday with the opening of the Expo Hall. How can the days seem so long but the event seems so short. I hope everyone has had an opportunity to see the sessions they wanted to see, listen to the main stage events, visit the Expo Hall, and meet with others attending RootsTech.

Were you inspired by anything you have seen so far at RootsTech? Maybe some of the Main Stage speakers inspired you? Did you watch Nick Vujicic talk about his life as a handicapped child and how that molded his view of the world? Did you watch Francesco Lororo talk about rescuing the music scores written by prisoners in the concentration camps during WW II? Or maybe you saw Erick Avari talk about his life's journey from his childhood in India to an actor in the United States. These are just a few of the Keynote speakers that shared their inspiring stories. I encourage you to spend some time listening to their stories on the RootsTech Main Stage.

Have any of the presentations inspired you? The series of  Let's Do Good Together panels discussions were designed to inspire participants to take steps afterward to do good. The discussions that I was involved with yesterday provided ideas encouraging the use of family history in education and supporting community projects that included activities focused around family history. The panel I participated on today discussed ways to inspire children to love family history. There were other panel discussions which talked about improving the reach of DNA Interest Groups, discussion of projects in Texas, exploring the psychological benefits of family history, and learning about Search Angels for adoptees, along with a few other topics.

One of the panelists I met through the Let's Do Good Together discussions was Daniel from Ireland. He is a 17 year old who started his genealogy journey when he was 13. He helped moderate one of the breakout rooms in our discussion of Inspiring Children and Youth to Love Family History. What makes Daniel so inspiring? He has taken his love of genealogy and spread it across the globe through a group called The Hidden Branch. This is a group of young people ranging from the early teens to early twenties who all have a passion for genealogy. They provide help and inspiration for other young people to get involved in genealogy. So if you have a young person who shows an interest in family history, you may want to point them toward Daniel and his group.

Other panelists in groups with me were Shenley Puterbaugh from Inspire Family History and Olivia Jewell from the 21 Day Family Connections Experiment. The goal of Inspire Family History is to inspire children of all ages to love family history. They start with the concept that you are who you are because of the decisions and actions of those who came before you and that as you learn about your ancestors, you are better able to understand yourself. Their website has a great list of resources and ideas to promote getting children inspired about their own family history. 

The 21 Day Family Connections Experiment is a social experiment exploring the psychological benefits of daily connections with family past and present. They have developed a set of themed plans that last 7 to 21 days which encourage actions on a daily basis to help you explore all aspects of family connection. 

Both sites understand that knowledge of our family history promotes self confidence, resilience, a higher self esteem, a sense of place, and many other positive traits that help us cope with the world around us. Both of these women are working to inspire a new set of people to become interested in family history and promoting well being in our society.

These are just a few example of how attending RootsTech can be an inspiration to us. Take a look at their websites and watch their RootsTech videos to learn more and be inspired yourself. 

Shenley's RootsTech sessions are listed here. While Olivia's are listed here.

Family history should be inspiring. We should enjoy the work and want to encourage others to participate. It doesn't end with you and we all should be willing to share what we have discovered with our families so they understand their history and how the actions of our ancestors have shaped our own lives. Have fun and "Let's Do Good Together".