Digital Memorialisation for a Global Age全球化时代的数字纪念

Virtual sites of memorialisation of mass atrocities1， from web pages and blogs to social media， have proliferated this century.

本世纪以来，从网页、博客到社交媒体，各种纪念大暴行的虚拟网站数量急剧增长。

Once unimaginable technology enables individuals and communities to share photos， memories and ruminations2 about the past.

曾经难以想象的技术使个人及社群得以分享照片、记忆和对过往的反思。

Recent developments like holograms3， artificial intelligence （AI）， virtual reality （VR） and augmented reality （AR） permit further changes in the very nature of memorialisation， including simultaneously， and sometimes paradoxically， decentralising and globalising it.

全息影像、人工智能（AI）、虚拟现实（VR）和增强现实（AR）等新技术的发展，使纪念活动的本质进一步改变，包括出现去中心化和全球化这两种同时呈现却又相互矛盾的趋势。

Pre-digital practice mostly confined memorialisation to a particular geographical space—often a monument， a museum or an archive. States produced and controlled these spaces， thus using them not only to pay respects to the heroes， victims and martyrs of its past， but also to craft narratives that supported their own claim to legitimacy.

前数字化时代，纪念活动多数局限于某个具体的地理空间——常常是一座纪念碑、一家博物馆，抑或一所档案馆。国家是这类空间的创建者及支配人，不仅可以借助它们凭吊本国历史中的英雄、受害人及烈士，还可以利用它们来构建自己的叙事体系，为自我宣称的合法性提供支持。

Virtual memorialisation loosens， if not shatters， such control—carrying the prospect of fundamentally changing how and where collective memory is formed and retransmitted. Digital technology allows those processes both to devolve to individuals beyond the reach of the state and communities that might transcend national boundaries.

虚拟纪念的出现使得国家的这一支配地位即使不被打破，也会松动，导致集体记忆形成及传播的方式和场所未来可能发生根本性改变。数字技术使得纪念过程既可下放到不受国家管辖的个人，也可以转授给范围超越国家疆界的群体。

The resultant local and transnational connections may sometimes reinforce state narratives， but in other instances may serve to contest them.

由此产生的地方性或跨国性联系网络有时或许可以强化国家叙事，但某些情况下也可能对其形成挑战。

The use of social media for the memorialisation of mass atrocities illustrates the global dimensions of these new trends. In countries such as Myanmar， Facebook is synonymous with the internet itself.

通过社交媒体来纪念大暴行，清晰地表明了这些新趋势的全球维度。在缅甸等国家，脸书俨然成了互联网本身的代名词。

The platform permits sharing of photos， live streaming， pre-recorded videos， stories and the ability to interact within communities of interest by commenting and “liking” posts.

脸书允许用户分享照片、直播、预录视频和故事，也允许他们通过留言评论和“点赞”贴文在兴趣群内交流互动。

Residing in “the cloud，” or， more concretely， a server farm in Oregon or Sweden， Facebook commemorative or memorial pages transcend physical space， permitting individuals to form and join communities of interest from anywhere in the world.

脸书的纪念页面存于“云端”，具体而言，就是存于美国俄勒冈州或瑞典某地的服务器场内，跨越物理距离，世界任何地方的个人都可以组建或加入兴趣群。

Digital forums of memorialisation of wars， genocides and mass atrocities have the power to elevate4 new voices， allow geographically disparate communities to share experiences and learn about their shared past， and enable others to compose their own virtual memorials outside the official domain of the state.

针对战争、种族灭绝行为及其他大暴行的数字化纪念论坛拥有巨大的力量，可以将新的声音放大，使地理上相距遥远的群体得以分享经历、了解彼此共同的过往，同时也让其他群体能在国家官方领域之外打造属于他们自己的虚拟纪念空间。

Non-state narratives may even challenge state-driven stories， as in the cases of expatriate participants on platforms that memorialise the Igbo victims of the Biafran civil war5.

非官方叙事甚至可能对国家主导的叙事构成挑战，比如：侨居海外的人在网上平台参与纪念比夫拉内战中的伊格博族受害人。

These positive developments come with limitations and risks. Many states increasingly police social media sites. In some countries， individuals can be arrested for posts and sites deemed oppositional to the state.

这些积极变化有其局限性及风险。很多国家日益加强对社交媒体网站的管制。在某些国家，个人可能因为发表的贴文或开通的网站被认定有悖于国家利益而遭受牢狱之灾。

Revisionist history can also empower denialists or foment6 resentment at odds with projects of unity and reconciliation7. Extremists might also expropriate8 the virtual memorialisation toolkit for their own hateful purposes， gaining unprecedented global reach.

修正主义历史观也可能为某些对历史持否定态度的人赋权，或者煽动针对统一与和解项目的仇恨情绪。极端分子也可能滥用各种虚拟纪念技术，以实现其邪恶目标，前所未有地将魔爪伸向全球。

The globalising effects of digital memorialisation are not limited to those arising from digital archives and social media. Thanks to new digital technologies， physical exhibits themselves have a greater access to global space. For example， VR technology allows experiences to break free of the constraints9 of physical presence.

数字纪念的全球化影响力不再局限于数字档案馆及社交媒体。得益于新数字技术，实体展览自身也在拓展全球范围的触及空间。例如，虚拟现实技术使人们摆脱了参观展览必须亲临现场的体验局限。

While one may still need to visit a specific physical destination to experience more sophisticated versions of VR， once there the technology offers the promise of detachment， transporting the viewer to another setting， such as a concentration camp or battlefield. Similarly， hologram technology allows audiences to interact with a simulacrum10， brought to their own location.

为了获得某些更高级的虚拟现实体验，人们或许依然需要亲自到访特定的地方，到了那里，技术能带给人一种分身游离的感觉，仿佛被带到集中营、战场等场景之中。同样，全息影像技术使观众可以和呈现在面前的幻影互动。

The Shoah Foundation11’s hologram project， for example， combines audio testimony with the illusion of a three-dimensional form of an actual Holocaust survivor， while featuring interactive capabilities driven by AI. The availability of such technology augurs12 to break the constraints on learning—and on sharing and processing memory—once posed by distance， geography and national borders.