MCCY invites public to contribute their COVID-19 experiences at “Stories of Us” website

1. 15 Jan 2021 (Friday), Singapore – Many years later, what will people remember about COVID-19? What do our experiences through this pandemic mean to us? These are some reflections the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) is inviting the public to contribute, via the new Stories of Us (www.storiesofus.gov.sg) website.

2. Launched today, Stories of Us enables visitors to discover and read the stories of other contributors, interact with these stories, and submit their own too. Over time, Stories of Us will be a collection of our shared memories and experiences on this pandemic, documenting our people’s struggles and triumphs.

Screengrab 1: Stories of Us interface. Visitors can choose to explore more stories or share their own. A mood meter shows the overall mood of the stories submitted in the past 24 hours.

3. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all of us. Through text, pictures, video or audio submissions, visitors have different ways to reflect on what living through a pandemic means to them, and to glimpse into another person’s experience and emotions.

4. Key features of the site include filters based on emotions, topics and characters, to allow visitors to explore the stories they are most interested in. A mood meter shows the overall mood of the stories submitted in the past 24 hours, ranging from happiness to frustration (or even the colloquialism “sian”), reflecting public sentiment as we journey through this pandemic together. Stories of Us has also been designed to be mobile-friendly to allow the public to contribute their stories as experienced and felt in the moment.

Screengrab 2: Visitors can explore stories by different tags, including emotions ranging from happiness to “sian”.

5. In the development of Stories of Us, MCCY partnered several agencies to curate story submissions from the platforms they manage, which visitors can already start exploring upon the launch of the website. These platforms include Dear COVID-19 by the National Youth Council, the Documenting COVID-19 project by the National Library Board, as well as reflections gathered from past Emerging Stronger Conversations sessions, and public reflection channels from the National Museum of Singapore, National Day Parade 2020, and Singapore Together.

Screengrab 3: Visitors can interact with each story via the like, comment and share functions.

6. The Stories of Us project is in support of Singapore Together, a movement for all Singaporeans to work together to build our shared future.

About SG Together

Singapore Together is about the Government working with Singaporeans, and Singaporeans working with one another, to build our future Singapore. The Government will open up more partnership opportunities for Singaporeans to participate. The Government also hopes to support more citizen-led efforts. Whatever our background or interests, we can each step forward to contribute in areas that we care about. By working together, we can turn diversity into strength and transform challenges into opportunities, to build a Singapore that present and future generations of Singaporeans will be proud of. For more information, visit www.singaporetogether.gov.sg. 

Annex – Examples of stories on Stories of Us

“A Warm Raya” by Hafizah Jainal

On Hari Raya (24 May 2020) we weren't able to visit each other due to circuit breaker restrictions, so we had a Zoom call with all our relatives.

It was nice to see everyone even though through a screen but this will never replace the warmness of physically meeting each other.

“My Edibles Garden” by Mahendran Rudrarani

Hi. I am Rudra. My mother, Mahendran Sathiyadevi, is 81 years old currently. She has metal in her left hands and knee (due to a fall). We are staying around Katong. She is very interested in gardening. She reads magazines and goes online to get tips on gardening.

Since onset of Covid-19 pandemic and circuit breaker, she has been into My Edibles Garden. She has been growing vegetables like ladies fingers, chillies (both green and red), brinjals and lime. She also has banana and papaya plants. She uses the vegetables for home cooking and we eat the fruits. She grows other plants too. like hibiscus and ferns.

My mother is able to prepare and share many traditional dishes including using the stem and the flower of the banana. My family members are very proud of her efforts.

“Cesarean birth in a pandemic” by Yvonne Cheng

The birth of my son during the COVID-19 and circuit breaker period. This meant that skin-to-skin contact upon his birth would be hindered by a surgical mask. A typically joyous situation where friends and family would visit the latest bundle of joy and shower him with love is replaced by contactless courier deliveries.

In doing our part to stay safe and stay home, even my husband’s mother (a first time grandma) couldn’t visit and cuddle with him. The postpartum period has always been a time when family and emotional support is important, yet we can only connect virtually and be there for one another in a very different way than we have imagined. For now, we can only wait for the measures to loosen and trust that eventually we will prevail over the pandemic.