An interactive tour of Neuchâtel's colonial past

The beautiful city of Neuchâtel bears witness to a history as rich as it is weighty. To shed light on this controversial past, and in a bid to include as many people as possible, the City of Neuchâtel has inaugurated a new TOTEMI trail.

The starting point

In the summer of 2020, the Black lives Matter movement gains momentum and several demonstrations take place around the world, including in Neuchâtel. The statue of Baron David de Pury was painted red, and two petitions were launched to remove it. Since these events, the city of Neuchâtel has launched a number of initiatives to provide information and shed light on its past.

Our solution

To enable local residents and tourists alike to learn more about Neuchâtel's involvement in slavery, the slave trade and colonialism, an interactive and educational trail in the form of a stroll through the city of Neuchâtel has been designed. The tour is designed to be fun and educational, so that young and old alike can learn more about the city's history while having fun at the same time.

How to complete the course

To complete the tour, simply download the Totemi application and start the tour. The tour is available free of charge at all times, in French, English and German. The walk lasts around an hour and links seven emblematic sites over a distance of one kilometer. The sites can be visited in any order.

Accessibility for as many people as possible

Accessibility was one of the major issues for the course. That's why we opted for a connected route. Anyone with a cell phone can download the application. This interactive tour is designed for tourists and locals alike. It has been designed so that it can be followed at any time by people of all ages. What's more, the tour features a varied combination of visual content, videos and subtitled audio, presenting each theme in a comprehensive way that's suitable for everyone.

Immersive graphic universe

In collaboration with DasPlayground, we also created a distinctive graphic universe to immerse users in the history of Neuchâtel. We ensured that all media were consistent with each other, guaranteeing an immersive experience for users. Each element, whether visual content, videos or posters, has been treated in such a way as to make the journey as uniform and fluid as possible. This makes it easier for visitors to immerse themselves in the city's history.

Fun and educational walk

To make this experience interactive and entertaining, various riddles have been integrated. This encourages the active involvement of visitors throughout their exploration. In addition, an educational dossier for teachers has been developed. This mediation tool establishes a link between the global history taught in school textbooks and the local story. In this way, it enables pupils to better understand and take ownership of their city's past.

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