Remembering
Remembering
What was everyday life yesterday is memory today. Many conversations that used to be a matter of course no longer take place. With them, experience is lost. Erzähl doch mal (Tell Me About It) keeps memories alive: in conversation between the generations, supported by digital means.
Our topics
We record what everyone knows: everyday life, school days, leisure, holidays, the schoolyard. These topics are biographical and universal at the same time. One example is the slate board. Several generations know it, and each has its own experiences with it. These experiences are what we capture: individual memories as well as the differences. This includes the dialects, which we document along the way.
Listening connects
Belonging and connection have to do with listening. Our most important media are therefore audio, listening, and speaking. Pictures, videos, and sources complement them.
Why remembering together matters
Remembering together is often called memory or biography work. It strengthens self-esteem, consolidates identity in old age, and fosters communication between the generations. In early dementia, positive memories serve as a bridge to one’s own emotional world when new things become harder to retain.
What we do
We listen and support documentation with the app. In workshops and meetings we provide guidance, record stories, and prepare them. This creates new occasions for conversation that invite people to go deeper and ask more.
We also address caregivers. They, too, need occasions for conversation, and we provide them in their native languages, such as Hungarian, Ukrainian, Polish, or Czech.
More about the method can be found at Storytelling; if you want to get started yourself, the steps are at Get Involved.