Up to recently, history was all about the big dates and historical events. We didn’t care much about the memories and so we know little about everyday lives of the common people from 17th century Highlands or 18th century Silesia. We’ve got chronicles and annals but they favour the royalty and aristocrats. Nowadays, we’ve got the tools to record our histories and yet, more procrastinate it. So we lose old photographs and memories become more and more faded with years. That’s where the Remembering Site, Geneva-based startup, comes in. It’s a place you can post story because everyone’s got a story worth telling.
Sarah McCue, UN tech for humanity initiatives, is the mastermind behind the project. She launched the project after her father’s unexpected death, when she realised she’d never have the chance to ask him questions about his life and experiences.
“When death comes, our coffee pots will still be plugged in, the phone will still ring, your bed will be made or unmade, the vacation will have been planned or once again postponed, and you will either have taken the time to write about your life to share with loved ones or you won’t,” Sarah McCue says.
What she does, is giving everyone a space for their stories. You can write and publish your life memories, experiences, memoirs, or autobiography. The biography is divided in chapters and questions to make it well-organised and less chaotic. You can share your story as you’re writing it, your friends and loved can read it as it develops. The Remembering Site’s a wonderful writing tool, which provides instant translating and archiving.
It’s been around for several years but only focused on the U.S. market. This year they’ve started a special initiative in Europe to focus on the importance of elder Europeans sharing their life stories. After all, peace comes from cultural understanding.
The Remembering Site has 10,000 users to date. If you want to check it out, the one time subscription fee is $25.