People who were born with HIV now have a safe space to record their life stories to be included in the social history of HIV
People who were born with HIV now have a safe space to record their life stories to be included in the social history of HIV
The life stories of people who were born with and grew up living with HIV are to be professionally recorded and saved for the future in a new project launched today, on World AIDS Day.
Since the late 1980’s, the life stories of people living with HIV have been collected at the British Library Sound Archive. However, the stories of children who have grown up living with HIV have not yet been collected because up until now people were too young.
Positively Spoken is a new oral history project being led by young adults living with HIV and will run for two years. The project will provide a safe space for other people born with HIV to be professionally interviewed, so that they can have their insightful and important stories recorded and included in the social history of HIV in the UK, for future generations to learn about.
Participants can choose to keep some parts or the whole of their story hidden for up to 100 years, giving them the option to share when they are ready.
Anyone aged 16 or older who has grown up living with HIV is invited to meet with a trained interviewer from the project team over a period of time to record their life story. To find out more information and to express interest in taking part people can get in touch at www.chiva.org.uk/positivelyspoken.
The project is run by Chiva in partnership with the British Library. The British Library have one of the largest collections of life stories in the world and will keep them safe for centuries to come. Positively Spoken is made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
