UCF students participate in 'Remember Now' project with Harvard University and NHL Stenden University

On 24 September the start sign was given for a collaborative project among the School of Public Health of Harvard University, RUG/Campus Fryslân and NHL Stenden Hotel Management School. 'Remember Now' is the first research project of the 'Designing Life after COVID-19' initiative led by the Design Laboratory, Harvard TH. Chan School of Public Health. In the project ways are explored to render visible the invisible aspects of the current pandemic.

UCF students in the 'Diversity, Intersectionality and Global Health' course of the GRL programme are participating as researchers in this project. Their task is to reach out to at least ten respondents with diverse backgrounds. Respondents will be asked to take photos illustrating elements and activities related to their daily lives under COVID-19. After this students will interview the respondents to investigate how and why they took those photos and why those images are significant to them. In a second phase of the project students will analyse the gathered data in groups.

By not using predetermined questions but letting participants reflect on their lives during the pandemic on the basis of photos, the research hopes to uncover new questions that are more relevant to the participants than the ones researchers could devise beforehand. Moreover, in analysing the data the research hopes to develop insights and criteria for improving the well being of people, organisations, and the natural environment in all phases of a pandemic.

Dr. Sepideh Yousefzadeh wrote a personal piece about why she decided to include this project in the 'Diversity, Intersectionality and Global Health' course.