Capturing your memories!
THE LOCKDOWN LEGACY
At the time of writing the original brief for this project, we were just starting to see light at the end of the Covid-19 tunnel here in the UK. Non-essential shops were opening and the tourism & hospitality industries had been given dates at which they could reopen to paying guests whilst following social distancing and room service only restrictions, making it difficult to guarantee a home from home experience. Children were returning to school, if only for a few short days before they broke up for the summer holidays and there was a small sense of normality returning as once again the bird song was drowned out by the noise of increasing traffic. With the latest government announcements and imposed restrictions, we are taking a backward step and we are bracing ourselves for the impact of the second wave.
For some, the restrictions of lockdown have been nothing more than a government-imposed inconvenience but for others it has been a life changing tragedy, the memory of which will never leave them.
Once over, it will only take a matter of months and this all-consuming pandemic could be a thing of the past, well forgotten. Certain generations will have no memory of it, some generations will choose not to remember it and others will never be allowed to forget.
The idea behind “The Lockdown Legacy” is to ensure that future generations and those too young now to remember in the years ahead, have a clear record and documentation of how it affected each and every one of us, world-wide. We may not have all been in the same boat, but for once the world was sailing into the same storm.
In this planned book and supporting podcast series we will hear from women of all ages, race, creeds, colour and background from all corners of the UK and beyond.
We are inviting women and young girls to share their lockdown story and to tell us what their experience has been. We are reaching out to businesswomen, teachers, nurses, GPs, and the leaders of every faith. Mothers who have had babies, women who have lost loved ones or have struggled with issues we have no understanding of. We want to hear from those who have had to cancel weddings and put big birthday celebrations on hold. We are also looking for women who have turned their business around or completely reinvented their business, or even sadly, lost their business.
If you would like to be involved in this “time capsule” project, the brief is simple, to supply a piece of up to 500 words, supplied in a word document with supporting high resolution images as separate attachments. We are also happy to receive images and short quotes as submissions, drawings from children or images that just sum up the feelings and experiences of your time in Lockdown.
Our aim is to make “The Lockdown Legacy” as accessible as possible and therefore as well as being in print, we are planning to make an audio, podcast version of the book available. All profits will be in aid of The Network She Foundation, to support women and young girls into employment, education and sport. Grant applications will be invited to apply for the support, with the successful applicants being announced on International Women’s day 2021. We look forward to receiving your memories!