Wondering how citizens can bring the stories of a city to life? With an abundance of data and information sources available in a city, there are many possibilities to tell stories. In the ESSENCE project, we developed new technologies to physically integrate stories to engage citizens in their urban challenges and those of society by extent. After two years, the project has ended and we look back on the results and insights.

This summer, VRT Innovation experimented with a physical test setup in order to tell stories that closely relate to the lives of every citizen in an innovative and efficient way. At the studio of Radio 2 in Antwerp, you can find screens with new and local stories, based on images sent by local residents.

Starting April 8, “Breaking Europe” begins, an online programme in which journalists Rudi Vranckx and Yassine Atari visit different European cities and ask Europeans their opinion on topics like migration, the climate and youth unemployment. To allow as many young Europeans to share their opinions and at the same time support the editorial team with the processing of the material, the team of VRT Innovation built a “talking box”, a mobile booth with an innovative video captioning system.

Since 2006, Studio Brussels organises the yearly charity event Music for Life, an initiative to raise money during the “Warmest Week”. Studio Brussel calls on their listeners to set up a campaign for a cause that lies close to their hearts. Since 2017, these campaigners are able to share their stories with the Warmest Week app, record videos with the radio presenters and call in live during a broadcast. These are the innovations and projects behind Music for Life.

The Wall of Moments is an application developed within the innovation department of VRT. It emphasizes the value of interaction and co-creation in the future experience of media. From the charity event Music for Life to the World Cup: here you can find an overview on the cases and next steps of this interaction tool.