Positively Spoken is an oral history project collecting the life stories of people who were born with and grew up living with HIV in the UK.
Since the late 1980s, sound recordings telling the unique stories of people living with HIV have been collected at the British Library Sound Archive. The acclaimed BBC documentary “Aids: The Unheard Tapes” is based on stories from this archive.
But young people who have grown up with HIV have insightful and important stories to tell too. These also need to be recorded and collected.
How it works
Positively Spoken provides a safe space for people who have grown up living with HIV to share their stories, so they can be archived in the British Library and included in the social history of HIV in the UK.
Some interviews are even conducted by young peer researchers, who are part of the project team. Participants can also choose to keep some or all of their story hidden for up to 100 years. Over 30 of these stories have now been collected. Listen to sound clips below.
This project has officially ended now. However if you are interested in finding out more, please contact: amanda.ely@chiva.org.uk
