Taking part in the HIVstory Project is a great way of getting involved with our work and offers participants useful skill development, especially in the area of archiving, and to develop your knowledge about the history of HIV and AIDS.

 We have regular opportunities to get involved and will be advertising these spaces on a regular basis.

In addition to developing their archiving skills and knowledge, the Project also features a creative writing element (see below).

We will begin recruitment for our second cohort of participants and our first paid archives placement in the coming weeks.

December 2024 saw the beginning of our first cohort of volunteers on the project, supervised by Gabrielle Fullam. The purpose of their four months with the project would be to make creative responses to the interview collections of NHST. There are 100 in depth interviews available for viewing at The London Archives using the Mediatheque facility. 

The first group of nine participants met for the first time with another of our project partners, The London Archives, receiving training and a tour of the archives from Senior Engagement & Learning Officer Symeon Ververidis. The London Archives holds the National HIV Story Trust’s collection of filmed interviews as part of their Positive History Project.

The volunteers then undertook research of the collections, meeting regularly to discuss the insights they were gaining.