Amazon Connect technology helps bring history back to life in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg

Esch-sur-Alzette, a thriving town in the southwest corner of the country, is home to a large campus of the University of Luxembourg which has grown in size and importance over the past five years. The city itself has a long and interesting history that is unfortunately no longer equally visible everywhere. In an effort to strengthen its connections with the city, the people who live there, and their history, the University is spearheading a range of public projects to bring the citizens of Esch-sur-Alzette more in touch with their own rich history. With the Amazon Connect technology we have empowered the HistorEsch project to set up an audio tour including historic sites and monuments.

HistorEsch

Heading up the program they’re calling HistorEsch are Joëlla van Donkersgoed and her colleagues from the Public History department of the University of Luxembourg. Their first initiatives include an audio guide for select monuments and historically significant geographic sites, creation of an outdoor public fresco and an exhibition in an easily accessible empty shop space.

The audio guide project makes the history of the city visible (in this case audible) again. Many historical places have been lost, leaving only memories in the minds of older inhabitants, who have become a valuable resource in helping Joëlla and her team to identify key historical sites and the stories surrounding them. Luxembourg’s first airport, for example, was located in Esch, but there is little visible reminder of it. So too, the many dance halls of yesteryear, long disappeared from the streets, but still vibrant in the memories of many longtime Esch residents. To create the most simple interface between these locations and people curious about their history, selected sites will be posted with a sign and a telephone number.  Call the number and you can hear the invisible story and memories of that place, narrated by knowledgeable inhabitants of the city, bringing a long-lost history into view. A major challenge of the audio programs is the multicultural and multilingual society of Esch-sur-Alzette, the result of various migration waves. The audio fragment will therefore be offered in several languages, including Luxembourgish, French, English and Portuguese. The latter is a surprise, as more than 40% of the city’s population appears to have Portuguese descent.

The Amazon Connect technologiy brings history back to life

HistorEsch is the first European implementation of similar projects already successfully completed in the United States and Canada, under the name “Hear here”. And Just like them, HistorEsch’s audio tour is built on Amazon Connect, Amazon Web Services’ self-service, cloud-based contact center.

Because the implementation of a new system like Amazon Connect can be time-consuming and strain resources, the University has chosen to have the first sites rolled out by Frontline Solutions. Joëlla van Donkersgoed reports, “I am very happy with our collaboration with Frontline Solutions. Communication was always good and working with Frontline’s engineering head, Shahzaib Momin was great. Amazon Connect is a very clear system, especially for a visually inclined person like myself. I am very satisfied”. With her on-the-job training working alongside Frontline Joëlla and her team can now add future sites to the audio tour themselves while continuing Frontline Solutions as a resource for questions or help.

Kim de Boer, Account and Business Development Manager at Frontline Solutions: “Ease of use and implementation speed were two reasons for Frontline Solutions to include Amazon Connect in our portfolio. These qualities in particular ensured that we were able to deliver this project on time and to the satisfaction of the University. We are pleased that we have been able to contribute to making the history of the city of Esch-sur-Alzette visible with our Amazon Connect expertise.”

About Luxembourg University

The University of Luxembourg was founded in 2003 and is the only public university of the Duchy of Luxembourg. The University is multilingual, international and has a strong focus on research. A modern institution with a personal atmosphere. The history research division, C2DH (Center Contemporary and Digital History) is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year. Because the center is so young, there is a lot of room for innovation and new ideas, the Public History research group is a frontrunner in bringing history closer to the people of Esch-sur-Alzette

About Amazon Connect

Amazon Connect makes the impossible possible, offering a higher service level at lower cost using their omni-channel contact center solution. Pay per use, so you only pay for what you use. Quick and easy to set up. Completely from the Cloud, so no more hardware and annoying software updates or upgrades. And delivering unique integrations with other business applications, such as Salesforce.

Frontline Solutions, your implementation partner

With our 30 years of experience, we’re experts in customer contact optimization and creating real personal service for your customers. In addition to Amazon Connect, we also implement and integrate complementary Cloud services in the field of Workforce and Quality Management, Digital Assistants and Analytics. That is why Frontline Solutions is your implementation partner. Frontline Solutions is the only local implementer of Amazon Connect in the Benelux. So we can offer our expertise in your own language. And we can be on location quickly if the situation calls for it. This does not alter the fact that we are also perfectly capable of supporting your international locations.

More information

For more information, please contact Kim de Boer on telephone number +31 88-2 680 749 or email kim.deboer@frontline.nl.