Corona-memory.ch, sharing memories and stories in the time of coronavirus

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Institutional Communication Service

1 July 2020

A digital database documenting experiences, thoughts and memories in the time of coronavirus. The initiative corona-memory.ch, developed thanks to the collaboration between Digital Humanities of University of Bern, the Swiss historical science portal infoclio.ch and USI Institute for Media and Journalism (IMeG), is a chance for everyone in Switzerland to share their story.

Launched in April 2020, corona-memory.ch has already collected over three hundred contributions from various parts of our country, documenting the change in the lives of Swiss citizens during the emergency and offering food for thought on the different perceptions of the "coronavirus era". The portal The portal always welcomes new contributions, which can range from videos, photos, voice and text messages, or content shared on social media.

An interactive map leads users on a "tour of Switzerland" to explore the archive, which will become an important resource in the future. The preservation of the data is in fact guaranteed by the Swiss Federal Archives and Social Archives and will allow to retrace the social experiences that have marked this particular period.

USI Institute of Media and Journalism has become an active partner of the project thanks to the consolidated collaboration with infoclio.ch, an association already active on university grounds (international conference Computer Network Histories in december 2017) that shares and promotes with IMeG common research interests on the history and memory of media and communication.

Luca Musarra is a team member of corona-memory.ch and student assistant of the Institute and member of the social media team of the European Communication Conference (ECREA), which landed in Lugano in 2018. He underlines how important it is for the population to be involved in the project, and addresses in particular the Swiss Italian-speaking region: "Southern Switzerland was the first region to be affected by the coronavirus outbreak and has soon become a model for the rest of the country thanks to the community response". The initiative aims precisely at strengthening the concept of "community", contributing to enrich the collective memory: "the exchange of memories, stories and testimonies can guide the community through recovery and will provide future generations with the tools to understand how this difficult historical moment has been faced" concludes Luca. 

 

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