Energy-EmoMaps is a pilot digital platform for emotional mapping and sentiment analysis of energy projects. It is the result of two research projects (EmoMaps1 and PowEms2) developed at the University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland (HES-SO) in Valais-Wallis.
Emotion mapping is a participatory method in which individuals create or contribute to a map by displaying their emotional experiences. It highlights complex relationships between emotions and spaces, as experienced by people. This method facilitates public expression around regional projects and planning processes, providing insights about how areas and infrastructures are perceived by different stakeholders. It also helps bringing public awareness on a certain topic and provide insights about safe areas and needed improvements.
This platform shows testimonials of individuals affected by projects related to energy. Each participant was interviewed on camera and asked the same questions. They were asked to choose a specific place affected by an energy infrastructure (eg: a hydroelectric dam) and describe their personal relationship with this place in the “past” (before the project), in the “present” (today or during the construction of the project) and in the “future” (in 10 years from now).
The transcripts of these interviews have been analysed through social and computer science approaches, sentiment analysis and emotion detection from text, in order to characterise the emotional expression related to energy projects. This analysis should be integrated to this pilot mapping in further developments of the website.
The cases shown in the current platform were gathered as part of the PowEms project, in collaboration with the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. They concern hydroelectric developments in Switzerland (Valais) and Colombia (El Quimbo). In the future, we hope this pilot platform may host new testimonials dealing with other types of energy infrastructures (solar, renewables, nuclear, fossil, etc.) in different regions of the world.
For the following case studies, all individuals have agreed to share their testimonials for the scope of the project.
This project was developed by a multi-disciplinary team consisting of: