I. For those who planned an in-person event, but had to cancel…

Don’t cancel, go virtual! Like us, you’ve already put your heart and soul into organizing an inspiring and meaningful program for your museum, school, or community in April for Genocide Awareness Month. You’ve probably planned most of the logistics - speakers, performers, invites, marketing - the list goes on. Your program won’t be the same as it would be in person, but you can offer it online and still achieve many of your goals and more! We would love to help you do that! Now more than ever, our world needs what you have to offer. Here is some guidance for how you can transform your (formerly) cancelled event into an amazing virtual experience that reaches a broader, younger, and more diverse audience:

  1. (RE)DESIGN YOUR EVENT: Consider which elements of your event lend well to an online experience. If your event features a performance by an individual, a keynote, or a panel discussion, that easily translates. Keep what works and set aside the rest for now. Consider adding other interactive elements using Together We Remember’s tools and resources - see Section II below.

  2. CHOOSE YOUR TECHNOLOGY: What you choose will depend on your event format and budget. Will you convene your featured speakers / performers at the original venue or will they need to beam in via their own video feeds? Here are the most practical tech options that could fit your needs in our order of preference:

    • Zoom Video Conferencing: Best for those who need multiple contributors to beam in live, are hoping to foster more intimate and interactive live conversations, could use virtual break-out rooms, want to record in HD, prefer participants register in advance, and need significant moderation controls (e.g. to mute / eject troublemakers). Depending on your account type, you can have anywhere from 100 to 1,000 virtual participants (and even up to 10,000 if you have the $ for it). You can purchase capacity to meet your needs (e.g. $90/mo for 1,000 participants). If you run out of virtual seats, you can stream the Zoom meeting to Facebook Live! This does two great things at once: 1. Creates urgency for people to register so they can interact with your featured guests directly in Zoom (via Q&A, for example) and 2. Allows anyone else to still watch / share / interact with the stream on Facebook. Another benefit of Zoom is HD video recording, which is important if you would like to share the full version or create a highlight video for social media. UPDATE: Zoom’s CEO announced that Zoom will be free for any K-12 teacher with a school email address!

    • Facebook Live: Best for those with one camera feed OR pre-recorded videos, a large Facebook following, and a desire to foster engagement on Facebook. It’s possible to host a “watch party” that users can opt into, but the functionality of this is a bit unclear. Watch party is sort of like setting up your own TV channel and watching the schedule lineup with a group of friends. Here are tips for Facebook Live and Watch Parties.

    • Twitter / Periscope: Best for those with one camera feed, a large Twitter following, and a desire to foster engagement on Twitter. Up to three “guests” can be approved to speak on the stream in addition to the single video feed from the host. Moderation features are available, but more likely to be needed - it’s Twitter after all. For more information, see here.

    • Instagram Live: Best for those focusing on reaching Gen Z / savvy Instagram users (students) without needing the virtual presentation tools available by Zoom. You can go live for up to one hour straight with a co-host (two video feeds) and create ordered graphics almost like a powerpoint presentation, but not quite. Requires much more experimentation, but could be a fun and meaningful experience for students to use. You may not be able to save a recording, though. See here for more detailed guidance / recommendations.

    • YouTube Live: Best for those with one camera feed, a YouTube Channel, a desire to foster engagement on YouTube, and little need for gathering registration information from participants. For more information, see here.

    • Be.Live: A fancy yet low-cost option to stream live to Facebook or YouTube, allowing you to brand your videos and interact with attendees in real time on the social media platform you are streaming to. For more information, see here.

  3. POST THE EVENT ON THE TWR WEBSITE: The silver lining to this pandemic is that the potential audience for your event just grew by a factor of THE INTERNET! We would love to make everyone’s event’s available to our community of teachers, students, and others who share a passion for fighting hate across lines of difference. Once you know where, when, and how your virtual event will take place, please fill out this form so we can post it on our event feed and share on social media to maximize participation (LINK). Given the sensitivity of the subject matter, we will ask you to verify your identity / your organization and vet the content of your program. If it’s peaceful, it will play. We also respect and encourage you to consider whether a 100% public / open event is your ideal fit. It’s possible to post an event on our website and specify a priority audience (e.g. teachers / students / community leaders / practitioners).

  4. SPREAD THE WORD: If you regularly organize public events, do what you normally do! Create marketing materials and distribute via email and social media. Set up a Facebook Event. Create an Eventbrite that will enable you to collect names / email addresses to send the live event link out to. We can also set up a registration page our the TWR website. Ultimately, the real difference is that your venue is in cyberspace. Fortunately, it’s quite easy to get there! We will gladly help spread the word via our email and social media channels. We’re in this together.

  5. GO LIVE! We can’t wait to join you and see how you transform remembrance into action virtually! Don’t forget to save a recording if possible.

  6. SUBMIT VIDEO RECORDING TO TWR: We would love to post a full-length or edited highlight video of your virtual event on our website and on social media. You can upload the recording to our Dropbox here.

  7. CELEBRATE ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Share the inspiring story of your virtual experience on social media using the #TogetherWeRemember hashtag so our community can celebrate with you and together we can shape a positive collective narrative.

II. For those who would like to plan or add something new virtually…

Use TWR’s tools and resources to design a unique virtual experience and submit the details to us! <-- Link Think performances, keynotes, panels, workshops, vigil ceremonies, video screenings, dialogue activities, and more! Check out our existing slate of upcoming events for inspiration. Your [virtual] community is your canvas, and what you “paint” on it is up to you, so long as it aligns with our core values:

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Here are a variety of tools and resources available to you (we are actively updating this list!):

Name-reading Sign Up Template:  A Google Spreadsheet that enables community members to sign up for a slot to read names for a period of time defined by the organizer. 

TWR Name-reading App: A web-app that enables anyone with a laptop, tablet, or smartphone to host a TWR name-reading vigil anytime, anywhere. Names of atrocity victims are sourced from our database of over 190,000 victims representing 14 different atrocities throughout history.

TWR Pledge Sheet: A blank sheet with the TWR hashtag / logo that thousands have used to share who, what, why, and how they pledge to transform remembrance into action to make “never again” a reality. This is a powerful tool for collective dialogue activities, especially with students.

Education Resources: A variety of info and activities that organizers can incorporate into their vigils, including guidance for holding a TWR vigil in a classroom and using the TWR Statement Template, summaries of conflicts in history, and a variety of victim / protector profiles.

Consider designing a virtual experience that aligns with one of our daily themes. This is meant to be optional and a source of inspiration:

  • MIGRATION MONDAYS: Featuring stories about the Refugee Crisis to amplify the voices of those seeking safe refuge and those providing it.

  • TESTIMONY TUESDAYS: Featuring stories of survival, resilience, and renewal through the lens of survivors and their families (i.e. children & grandchildren).

  • WISDOM WEDNESDAYS: Featuring lessons on the history of genocide, mass atrocities, and identity-based violence and training on ways we can take meaningful action online and offline to make "never again" a reality.  

  • THANKFUL THURSDAYS: Featuring stories of gratitude in which survivors and their families thank the upstanders who saved their lives and celebrate the legacy of their courage.

  • FRONTLINE FRIDAYS: Featuring stories of individuals and organizations on the front lines battling hate and identity-based violence around the world, from Baltimore to Burma. Stories will highlight the realities on the ground and groundbreaking work being done in prevention, response, and reconciliation.

  • SOCIAL SATURDAYS: Featuring stories of the dreamers and doers behind the scenes who make the #TogetherWeRemember movement possible. This is an opportunity for TWR organizers across the world to connect and build community across lines of difference and for the TWR movement to be transparent and responsive to questions.

  • SOLIDARITY SUNDAYS: Featuring stories of those working across lines of difference to make “Never Again” a reality and highlight meaningful opportunities to take action locally and globally.

Once you have designed your virtual experience revisit the steps from Section I (above) to enable us to get your event posted on the TWR website and share it on social media! Here is the link to submit the details of your event to us.