ReStory

Background

July 2021, Belgium experienced the most destructive floods in its history. The damage caused by the deluge was enormous: over 220.000 houses were destroyed (on a population of 11 million), countless cars, furniture… but also tens of thousands of photos. Although these ruined photos do not represent a lot of financial value, their emotional value and the memories linked to these photos, are priceless. Especially after such a trauma. Because, when you lost everything, you hang on to memories. And memories are kept alive by photos. Briefing: how could Canon deliver a relevant and valuable contribution in the emotional recovery of the flood-affected area, in sync with its purpose – the commitment to support worthy causes towards local communities as a vital part to bring the world closer to Kyosei.

Idea

Thousands of flood damaged photos, a tragedy of a priceless emotional value, at the heart of what is Canon’s core business: photographs. So, in sync with its purpose and to help the disaster area in its emotional recovery, Canon decided to introduce a truly heartwarming initiative, ReStory. A project designed to restore all flood damaged photos. Free of charge. Because photos are memories. And memories are too precious to lose when you already lost everything in the devastating floods. How does the cleaning of photos work? The first step is an extensive and thorough drying and cleaning process, with the aim to minimize the loss of imagery in the process. Afterwards, the dried and cleaned photos are scanned, digitally retouched and printed. Canon – together with their partner ‘Object Care’ - provided the funding and the technology to restore as much flood damaged photos as possible.

As to why this initiative is so important, let’s quote Lotte Smets, trauma psychologist, “In the brain, photos are literally the most important trigger to bring memories back to life. When then, suddenly, you literally lose everything, memories become the only thing to hold on to. And as said, photos are the ultimate trigger of those memories. So, restoring them is restoring memory”

Results

Tens of thousands of flood damaged photos were entered. In total, so far, over 500 pictures have been restored. And returned. Currently, and for the next few months, the restauration will continue to go strong. Until all entered flood damaged photos that can be restored, are restored. It’s fair to say that the Canon ReStory project truly touched the entire Belgian nation. Literally all national media covered the initiative, calling victims out to send in their damaged pictures and spreading a great deal of praise towards such a heartwarming and generous initiative to help Belgium recover from the toll taken by the devastating floods that took place in mid-July.