Call to witness the present for the future – new Lancaster University-led platform captures tales of care and solidarity

From the diaries of Samuel Pepys to the Mass-Observation Diary of the Second World War, the present has been recorded for the future.
Lancaster Univesity.Lancaster Univesity.
Lancaster Univesity.

Now an urgent call-out, led by social scientists at Lancaster University, is appealing for photographs, artwork, sounds, videos, blogs, lectures, poetry, prose, letters and essays to capture the public experience of Covid-19.

‘Solidarity and Care during the Covid-19 Pandemic’ is a public platform, supported and produced by The Sociological Review Foundation, that collects, documents and reports on experiences, caring strategies and solidarity initiatives of people and groups across the globe during the pandemic.

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As the virus makes its way across the globe, questions of care arise at every turn.

Drawing across local and international knowledge, networks and resources, the initiative was launched this week to provide a space where scholars, activists and members of the general public could contribute their insights, concerns and reflections on care and solidarity in these times.

“We were keen to do more than provide the space for rapid response,” said Prof Bev Skeggs, of Lancaster University’s Centre for Alternatives to Social and Economic Inequality, who introduces the new platform on The Sociological Review website.

“We also wanted to be able to store responses in an archive so that nothing would be forgotten.”

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“Just like the world wars, this pandemic is a moment for radical thinking. Nothing will be the same again and there are many lessons to be learnt.

“It is really important that we learn from both the horror and the new forms of solidarity that are developing. We want to witness the present for the future.”

The platform will be a freely accessible collective resource that can circulate locally and across continents with the aim of helping people to care better for one another.

You can contribute to the platform through a number of ways by going online here

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