Under the title “Remembering. Forgetting. Looking Ahead.”, experts from history, medicine, public health, and journalism met on 28 August 2025 at the Tonhalle Zurich to discuss why past pandemics fade from collective memory — and how this loss can be addressed.

Kaspar Staub (University of Zurich) presented insights into the «Spanish Flu» (1918–1920) and the «Asian Flu» (1957–58), highlighting the phenomenon of the disaster memory gap. Wibke Weber (Zurich University of Applied Sciences) explored the role of oral history in preserving personal experiences.

A panel discussion moderated by Claudia Sedioli brought together Thomas Steffen (Public Health Switzerland), Caspar Hirschi (University of St. Gallen), Matthieu Leimgruber (University of Zurich), and Katrin Zöfel (SRF). They expanded on key themes such as memory culture, societal responsibility, and the challenges of communicating about past pandemics.

The event was part of the science communication project “Bridging the gap: Dialogues between scientists and the public, policymakers, and journalists about lost past pandemic experiences”, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation.

A recording of the event is available here: