Kresy-Siberia "Keep Their Memory Alive"

In our last newsletter we announced that the KSVM was being re-developed. Thanks to your generous donations, that work is continuing. Every week our brilliant I.T. specialist Shelley Upton is working on this enormous project (she did say she likes a challenge!) We’re going to take you behind the scenes to demonstrate how your donations are helping not only to enhance the virtual museum user experience but, most importantly, to secure the data so that generations to come can research, remember and recognize our mission.

You might think that re-building a virtual museum is all about the design and graphics but Shelley’s biggest task has been safely & securing the enormous amount of data from the old website to the new platform. That static content has now been migrated across. So the Wall of Names content containing the biographical details of over 75,000 people has been completed with duplication testing now underway on exported data. New submission forms for the Wall of Names and also Hall of Images have been created too.

Another big task to be done is creating the database for the child form – Deportations and Repressions. The formatting of the child form data is in progress and is scheduled to be imported – this includes things like deportations and repressions, military service – any multiple sets of data connect to one person on the Wall of Names. 

On a design note, the new platform is having the museum gallery pages replicated with the new design theme having to work for both desk-top and mobile devices. With about 50% of people accessing the internet from mobile devices, usability in this channel is a key need for our new museum.

As a registered charity we recognize how important transparency is and there will be a section in the new museum dedicated to our Kresy-Siberia Foundation annual reporting, financial reporting as well as newsletters and our Code of Conduct.

We have included some further “screen-shots” in this project report to keep you up-to-date on how the progress is looking. Once again thank you for your kind donations and on-going support. We look forward to finalising and launching the new and improved KSVM to you soon!