September’s Mission would like to invite you to become involved or partner with us on an exciting new project called the "Living Memorial." The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation recently approved a grant to September’s Mission to create this project. The "Living Memorial" will provide a dynamic, Internet-based knowledge management portal of reflection, remembrance, interaction, education and scholarly research about the tragedy of September 11, 2001. You DON’T need to know a lot about technology or the internet to get involved.

Below is a synopsis of the project, the four volunteer committees being formed and a self nomination form for those who would be interested in either co-chairing or serving on one of the committees. Families and friends who are interested in participating should return the self nomination form to September’s Mission no later than July 9, 2004. We will also have additional opportunities to participate in the project’s formation through public forums and online surveys. We want the process and project to be fun, stimulating and rewarding for all and hope you will become involved.

This project belongs to each and every one of us and we need you help, ideas, input and support to make it meet and exceed YOUR expectations. It will be a family-driven and inclusive initiative.

About the Living Memorial

The idea for a Living Memorial initially came about as a way to begin addressing key needs of victims’ families and children that can’t be fully served until the memorial and memorial center are built and open to the public.

For victims’ families, the Living Memorial can fill a critical void now by providing both a public and private place to keep the memory of loved ones alive by documenting their lives, sharing pictures, stories and other memories. It will provide a positive activity to begin the healing process, allow for connections to be strengthened and expanded among families without geographic limitations.

For children, there is a clear need to provide an age appropriate place for learning, understanding and communicating about the events of 9/11. Terrorism is a tragic reality of today’s world and children need knowledge and tools that can help them feel secure today.

But the Living Memorial is much larger than these two components. Over time, the Living Memorial will grow to become the essential information resource, online repository and archive of all information related to the events, places and people on and after 9/11. It will serve as a resource for:

Community Building, Stakeholders & the Public- i.e. those that want to learn, contribute knowledge or interact on a broad variety of relevant topics Curators charged with interpreting the events of 9/11 in the future memorial center

Scholars and historians who will research and report on various aspects of 9/11.

Educators, institutions and other groups looking to develop relevant programs at the site or elsewhere.

The Living Memorial will be accessible to anyone, anywhere in the world with access to a computer and Internet connection. It will be designed to support and enhance the goals and objectives of the official memorial organization - The World Trade Center Site Memorial Foundation and the mission and vision for the memorial and memorial center.

About the Committees

September’s Mission has retained professional consultants to oversee development of this project. They will need input from several types of projected users of the Living Memorial knowledge management portal in order to firmly establish the intent, functions and protocol requirements for the site. Four volunteer committees will be formed to shape that input:

Living Memorial Services Committee - This committee is charged with taking the long term view of the knowledge management portal’s objectives, identifying the resources it will need to contain or support, potential focus areas and priorities for future module build-outs/partnerships and broad-based user requirements. Potential members might include families, historians, librarians, civic leaders, teachers, residents, local museum curators, heads of cultural institutions, etc. The only limits to what the Living Memorial can be over time are imagination and funding.

Family Advisory Committee - This committee is charged with developing detailed objectives for the family centric module of the knowledge management portal. This committee will be comprised exclusively of family members with expertise or interest in participating. The family module of the portal will have two major facets - one that is available to the public and one that is the exclusive domain of the surviving families and future generations. There will be a separate "Family Room" to visit these sequestered files and interact/chat with other family members from around the world.

Children’s Advisory Committee - This committee is charged with developing detailed objectives for the children centric module of the knowledge management portal. Membership will include parents of children who lost fathers or mothers. These parents would be selected to represent a cross-section of ages to ensure that the children-centric section is age appropriate at all levels.

Other members might include teachers from the public school system, child psychologists, childrens’ advocates, etc. We envision the children’s module of the portal to have two major facets - one that is available to the public, (ie. children/teachers) and one that is the exclusive domain of the surviving children.

There would be a separate "Children’s Room" for surviving children to visit sequestered files and interact/chat with other children who lost parents on 9/11.

Privacy/Legal Committee - This committee is charged with developing the privacy and legal protocols that will govern use of the site. Beyond families, members might include lawyers, privacy advocates, and technologists. This committee will address issues of privacy, security and legal issues related to how information is stored, accessed and used through the site.

SELF NOMINATION EXPRESSION OF INTEREST