Wednesday 12th May is the day appointed this year by the Mass Observation Archive (MOA) for a mass survey of the everyday lives of people across the UK. This is no Big Brother surveillance. Rather, people of all ages are asked to make a record of how they spent their waking hours on this particular day and to send it in the form of a written diary for storage in the Keep archive managed by Sussex University in Brighton.

The first Mass Observation survey of this kind took place on 12th May 1937, the day of George VI’s Coronation, and was repeated over a period of 15 years to form a national resource for future research, teaching and learning. 

It was revived in 1981 and has been a source of mass social history ever since. Last year on the same day, over 5,000 diaries recorded individual experiences of the first Covid-19 lockdown. 

The MOA trustees advise that diaries may not only record experiences of the particular day but also reflect back over the past year and look forward to the future. Ideally, they should be in electronic form as email attachments (Word documents preferably), though hard-copy diaries will be accepted. 

Real names, contact details and the personal details of other people mentioned in the diary should not be identifiable, but diarists are asked to include a brief self-portrait stating age, place of residence, relationship status, work occupation if applicable, and any other information that is felt important to record.

Diaries from schools, community groups and other organisations will also be welcome. They can be written in any style and include drawings. 

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• Diaries should be emailed to [email protected], sent on Twitter hashtag #12May21 or posted to the Keep, Woollards Way, Brighton BN1 9BP. If they are to be kept in the Archive, they must be accompanied by a formal assignment of copyright and data protection rights: see www.massobs.org.uk


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https://www.hastingsindependentpress.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/postcard.jpghttps://www.hastingsindependentpress.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/postcard-150x150.jpgHIPNewsWednesday 12th May is the day appointed this year by the Mass Observation Archive (MOA) for a mass survey of the everyday lives of people across the UK. This is no Big Brother surveillance. Rather, people of all ages are asked to make a record of how they spent...The Hastings & St Leonards non-profit community newspaper