“The approach by GreenHouse in creating positive social change is unique and has greater impact than anything else I have seen. They are able to break down an issue or problem to its component parts; analyze, explore, and improve each part then rebuild it as a coherent and comprehensive whole that significantly enhances the social benefit of the project. They deliver positive action and effective change in some of the most challenging environments.”
—John Petrie, MBE, Chambers Director at 1 Crown Office Row in London and a trustee of the National Holocaust Museum in the U.K.
Kigali Genocide Museum:: Activation Through Physical Spaces
Genocide museums – like those in Rwanda, Germany and Washington, DC – are extraordinarily important institutions, ensuring that the atrocities they chronicle are never forgotten.
But the museums are not terribly effective at enlisting volunteers in preventing future atrocities.
That’s because the institutions follow a proven, predictable path: introduce visitors to horrific events through facts, artifacts and stories, which leave them smarter but shaken. We discovered a new path: by re-introducing hope and humanity within the museum experience, the institution allows visitors to recover their emotional balance and imagine themselves joining the fight.
The research was part of our UX for Good initiative, in which GreenHouse co-invited a dozen top user experience designers from around the world to join us in resolving a complex social challenge. The initiative produced the Inzovu Curve, a model that has guided modifications in Rwanda and helped designers map the emotional impact of institutions around the world.
Our groundbreaking work with the Kigali Genocide Memorial continues to influence the design of other memorials and museums founded to educate successive generations about past human atrocities, including the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama.