“With a hint she will remember”: Collaborative Storytelling and Culture Sharing between Immigrant Grandparents and Grandchildren Via Magic Thing Designs

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The timeless social activity of passing down oral stories preserves family memory, identity, values, and culture. Existing tools for family memories often take a techno-determinist approach by focusing on the mechanics of connecting families and the resulting documentation, rather than the social process of sharing stories and morals, and largely without considering the specific needs of immigrant families. For immigrant families, cultural exchange, particularly crucial across grandparent and grandchild generations, is threatened by the language and cultural barriers emerging from displacement and migration. As a result, immigrant grandparents and their young grandchildren struggle with fostering social kinship, leading to social disconnect and loss of cultural heritage. In our research, we collaborate with multi-generational and culturally-at-risk immigrant families through Participatory Design activities towards the design of reminiscence tools that support their needs focusing on language and cultural connection. We report on the designs created by families and propose design guidelines supporting cultural resilience, focusing on flexible, visual storytelling.