Spring Directive 2025
This directive we’re asking our writers to respond to three timely topics.
Part 1: COVID-19 Pandemic Reflections
Mass Observation has been reflecting back on March 2020. It was the 17th March when we contacted Observers to say we were leaving the office and if we weren’t in touch, to document the upcoming events as best you could. We vividly remember producing this mail out, whilst packing up our laptops with a mix of emotions.
We are very proud to have generated over 10,000 submissions documenting the pandemic thanks to the dedication of our Observers and public diary calls. Five years on, we welcome our writers to reflect upon this time and the changes that continue in their everyday lives today.
We appreciate that for many of you this could be difficult to reflect upon and write about. It is always optional and we value any contribution.
Part 2: VE Day
As Mass Observation is well known for its Second World War collections, we thought it would be appropriate to take the chance to capture how the UK marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe.
Part 3: Good News
For Part 3 we are asking writers to share some good news with us. This could be something within their life or a story that they’ve read or heard. Big or small we want to hear about it!
Not one of our writers and would like to be? Find out more about writing for the archive here.