'Local Recall' enables audiences to interact with Archant’s vast Norfolk news archive - on screen and via smart speaker. Audiences can discover the people, places and pastimes from over 150 years of local news simply by asking their Alexa or Google Home device a question. The Local Recall ‘bot’ then scans over 750,000 pages of the Eastern Daily Press – from 1845 to the present day – to provide an answer within seconds. It’s the first time a UK publisher has created such a platform and ensures the EDP newspaper archive – housed behind locked doors and only accessible by appointment – can be instantly enjoyed on digital devices, anywhere on the planet. The innovation, supported by the Google Digital News Initiative which champions the sustainability of local news, utilises entirely new technology, developed by Norwich based ubisend. Planning began two years ago, with the manual process of hand scanning hundreds of thousands of articles from original newspapers into digital code – ensuring when someone asks ‘the last time The Queen visited Norwich or ‘when the Canaries played their first game at Carrow Road’, Local Recall can instantly respond. In addition to the voice platform, users can deep-dive into content that means the most to them by inputting up to ten different search fields via the Local Recall website. Lorna Willis, Chief Client Officer of Archant said: “The Local Recall project is a fantastic example of how through the innovative use of technology, a whole world of local history from the EDP archives can become available for all to enjoy. We are extremely pleased that this special content is now available not just to read but also to hear and question through world leading chat bot technology.” “Our newspapers have been at the heart of local life for generation after generation. Since Queen Victoria’s time, our journalists and reporters have passionately and painstakingly captured the changing landscape of Norfolk. Local Recall gives this totally unique asset a new lease of life”. Joe Dixon, CTO at ubisend added: “Having the opportunity to work with Archant on a Google-funded project has really given us the opportunity to push the boundaries and produce a piece of technology which has never been seen before. This really was a tough challenge to say the least, but the team embraced every hurdle and developed a world class system in the process”. One major snag in scanning newspapers dating back over a century was torn or stained paper, meaning the scanners couldn’t always detect wording accurately. This was combated by deploying an army of local volunteers who spent over a year checking each article for accuracy. Local Recall Project Manager Chris Amos said: “Right from the off, we wanted this to be a project owned by the local community, so we set up many talks in village halls and community centres to involve local people. Hundreds of volunteers came on board to help and have been hugely engaged, tirelessly editing articles ready for launch”. “We all love Norfolk’s somewhat strange pronunciations and it’s been interesting teaching our digital ‘bot’ how to say Wymondham and Happisburgh!” Ben Craske, Archive Editor at Archant explained what users can explore: “Local Recall creates a portal to the past where users can delve into the stories that matter most to them. Whether they want to look up their family history or research what went on during WWII in their village, they can do that. Perhaps they're interested in old adverts or want to gauge public opinion on controversial decisions by diving into the reader letters. It's all there - all 750,000 pages of it. As an historian who was born and raised in Norfolk, I’m incredibly excited about Local Recall and can't wait to have feedback from users”. To learn more about Local Recall, visit localrecall.co.uk