You might ask yourself how we would cope without our phone’s GPS when driving in the dense city traffic or when measuring how far and fast we have just jogged. But this same function is also used by refugees in order to find the safest way on their journeys towards safety.

The exhibition I’m Alive explores the stories of refugees and how smartphones and the Internet helped them during their dangerous, long journeys towards safety. The exhibition showcases innovative initiatives that have helped refugees, of which mobile technology has often been an essential element.

During 2016, Tekniska museet has run a project focusing on the importance of the use of smartphones and mobile Internet for refugees. The museum staffs have met with a number of newly-arrived people, gathering together their stories and some of their possessions. The museum has also assembled pictures – both the respondents’ own and pictures that we have taken.

In the exhibition you will meet – among others – Deema, Hanadi and Khalid, who share their experiences of the important roles their smartphones served when they were fleeing. In the VR experience "Clouds over Sidra" you will enter the everyday existence of refugees in the Zaatari camp in Jordan. In a digital visualisation using unique data, you can follow how refugee boats were piloted across the Mediterranean Sea using social media.

This project has been carried out in collaboration with, amongst others, Sverige för UNHCR, Better Shelter, Refugees Welcome Stockholm, Villa Victoria, Annah Björk, Mattias Beijmo and the Maritme Organisation for Following-up and Rescue.

The stories, the objects and the pictures will be preserved in the museum’s collections.

Opening dates

12 October 2016 – April 2017