2020, the year a public health crisis turned our lives upside down and which will have long lasting effects. It exposed the massive inequalities in our societies and across the world. Covid19 spread to every part of the Earth where humans live even reaching a group of researchers in Antarctica.

Researchers at Aberdeen University aim to record the experiences of people from around the world. The team from Scotland, Wales and the USA are hoping to use to create an open and sharable account of a year like no other. 

Catherine Russell, the project leader, and a postgraduate student at the University of Aberdeen, said:

 “2020 saw a transformative series of events that have shaken the status quo. Our project wants to explore how the world experienced the year, and what has changed for us during it.  

“We feel this is a crux point in modern history and throwing a spotlight onto projects that provide deep insights into current narratives is essential to ensure we turn to the global future with our best foot forward. 

Submissions can be made via an online platform where participants are asked to share a story or situation from the year and to answer a series of short questions. 

The platform will be accessible for six months for people to record their thoughts and the resource is open to all.  

The team aim to gather a minimum of 3000 perspectives from all over the world in order to create a resource that can be used by the researchers behind the project and future researchers.  

The platform for people to record their experiences is available in French, English and Spanish, Arabic and Portuguese. 

Catherine Russell said:

“The purpose of Sharing Global Perspectives is to generate an open access platform that can bring individual voices and experiences around the world to light. We believe that building these narratives can provide insights, understanding and compassion to the global community.” 

The researchers intend to expand the team by bringing more local leads onboard from locations around the world who can help to raise awareness and encourage participation within their regions.