Our Mission: Preserving the Voices that Built the City
At Talking Cities, we believe a city is more than just bricks and streets; it is built from the stories of the people who live there. Our mission is simple yet urgent: to hand the microphone to our senior citizens. We give a voice to the narrators who lived history firsthand, ensuring their memories are never lost.
Through our immersive audio tours, we transform personal tales of resilience, resistance, and daily life into unique self-guided journeys. We want the world to discover not only how these cities maintained their identity behind the Iron Curtain but also how the human spirit prevails in difficult times.
A Circle of Solidarity: Memory is Priceless
This project is also a tool to combat loneliness. By involving the elderly in content creation, we offer them recognition, a sense of purpose, and a vital connection with new generations.
We are looking for witnesses. Do you know someone who helped keep the culture alive? Perhaps they took visible risks—printing underground newspapers or teaching history in secret. Or perhaps they were silent heroes who protected their families from the shadows. From political activists to anonymous citizens, we want to honor every contribution to freedom.
Your Visit Sustains Memory: A Transparent Model
We believe culture should be a right, not a luxury. That is why we have designed a hybrid model:
- Universal Access (Web): Our archive of oral histories is completely free. Anyone, anywhere in the world, can listen to and learn from our elders right here on this site.
- Premium Experience (GPS Tours): To fund this effort, we offer paid self-guided tours for walking the city. By purchasing a tour, you don’t just get an immersive experience; you become a patron of the project.
Our Commitment: More than just an online platform, we are a social initiative. After covering the operating costs necessary to maintain our technology and team, we reinvest 40% of our net profits to fund grocery cards, distributed through trusted local partners.
We ensure that the value generated by their stories returns directly, and tangibly, to them.
Talking Cities was born in Zielona Góra, using technology to honor the past. We are making history: one city at a time.
Contact
info@talkingcities.eu