Last July, the lives of Belgians, particularly those living in the province of Liège, were turned upside down by “one of the greatest natural disasters our country has ever known,” says Minister of Home Affairs Annelies Verlinden referring to the 2021 severe floods that have also affected several other European countries.

The events took many people’s lives and caused enormous material damage. Unfortunately, much of what the victims had can’t be replaced, the region still being affected by the flood trauma. But the floods have also threatened to steal the victims’ memories, severely damaging thousands of their photos. A picture might not have a lot of financial value; rather, its worth can be measured in the memories and emotions it triggers, which are priceless.

With no pictures around to keep their memories alive, these people’s flood trauma would probably amplify. To avoid this from happening, Canon Belgium launched the “ReStory” project, a “small but valuable contribution to the emotional recovery of the region.” Through the program, the brand hopes to save as many memories as possible by breathing life into the ruined photos.

“People are afraid to forget. That is exactly why a photograph offers such an enormous sense of security. Photos trigger memories inside the brain, explaining their huge emotional value. In the event of loss, the emotional value of a photo becomes even more important. It is during times like these that people need to be able to give meaning, in order to cope with their loss. Memories — and therefore photos — play a crucial role then. So, if you lose your house in a flood and you lose your photos too, you actually lose twice, because of your fear to forget. Which is logical because, if everything we have ever built vanishes, we can only fall back on our memories,” says Lotte Smets, clinical psychologist.

Conceived with the help of the Happiness Brussels agency, the project is accompanied by a microsite, where victims of the floods can submit their request to have their pictures restored. Registration is open until November 21, with the company personally collecting the damaged images during the first week of December. With the help of the experts at the Object Care laboratory, Canon will clean the photos, convert them into digital format, and return the restored photos along with a digital version so users can print them in the format they want.

Geoffrey Hantson, Chief Creative Officer Happiness Brussels, says: “During the huge clean-up, we saw some very emotional interviews on the TV news. Many victims said that the floods wiped out not only whole neighborhoods but also thousands of memories. Among them: Thousands of photos washed away or severely damaged. Of course, the severity is incomparable to the number of lives lost and incomparable to the financial losses, but the emotional value of these photos is nonetheless very high. And there’s where we could help, together with CANON and other partners: Restore as many of the damaged photographs as possible. To contribute in a small but relevant way to the emotional recovery of the region.”

The brand collected around fifteen photos, carefully cleaning and digitally maneuvering them. Some of them made it to a photo exhibition at Brussels Expo, with the results also being showcased in a docu-style video.

“At Canon we know the emotional power of images and the stories that go with them. That’s why we support the ReStory programme of photo restoration and why we were touched by the stories behind them. The results will be shown in a moving documentary and in a photo exhibition during the Photo Days at Brussels Expo on 22, 23, and 24 October 2021. The project will be an appeal to anyone affected by the floods, who would like to have damaged photos restored. This way, these people can keep their memories intact and we can help alleviate their grief,” adds Jacco Leurs, Managing Director of Canon BENELUX.

Credits:

Client: Canon Belgium

Agency: Happiness Brussels