The What’s Your Story? project collected a bank of audio stories from 22 people living or working in North Ayrshire, about their experiences of Covid during the pandemic and into 2022.

Since Covid-19 arrived in 2020, everyone’s lives had changed, from mask wearing to lateral flow testing to shielding to losing loved ones. The project aimed to capture this moment in history and show how people were uniquely affected by the pandemic. It also highlighted many uplifting stories of how communities pulled together, became more digitally connected and appreciated outdoor life. The participants were part of this history, and the project has captured their stories for future generations to listen and learn from.

The stories reflected how people’s lives had changed and show how they survived a global pandemic. The stories also help us take a moment to remember those that we have lost and celebrate our communities and local environment. The project followed these steps:

• Participants were given a story template form to fill in. This form contained suggestions and questions to help them structure their story. Support in doing this was provided by a staff member if required.
• Participants were invited to make an audio recording of their story with a trained member of staff. Using their story template, they could either read their story or use the template as a prompt.
• On the day of recording, participants filled in consent forms to grant permission for their voices and names to be used – there were also facilities to be anonymised, such as having a voice actor read their story.
• They were given the chance to hear the recording before it was published and give feedback or suggest alterations to the edit, and it was only used with their permission.
• The stories were then shared online, via North Ayrshire Libraries’ YouTube channel.