More than 1,000 members of the public living and working in the Scottish Highlands met with UK Covid-19 Inquiry staff this week to help the Inquiry better understand their pandemic experiences.
Every Story Matters is the public’s opportunity to share the impact the pandemic had on them and their life with the UK Inquiry – without the formality of giving evidence or attending a public hearing.
From Ipswich to Inverness, Inquiry staff are travelling to towns and cities across the UK to hear people’s stories and to encourage them to contribute to the evidence being compiled as part of Every Story Matters.
Inquiry staff visited The Spectrum Centre in Inverness on Tuesday 3 September, as well as the university, and The Rockfield Centre in Oban on Wednesday 4 and Thursday 5 September. Across the three days, over 1,100 people met with the Inquiry and shared their experiences with the Inquiry team. This also follows a previous visit to Paisley near Glasgow earlier this year.
Every story shared will be valuable in shaping the Inquiry’s recommendations and help us to learn lessons for the future.
I would like to thank every member of the public who took the time to come and see us in Inverness and Oban this week. Every story we heard was both unique and incredibly important, and we continue to be humbled and amazed by what people choose to share with us. We have heard of terrible hardship, but also stories of hope and communities coming together to help each other.
We are not a London-based Inquiry - we are travelling throughout the UK over the next six months. There are millions of stories out there about people’s experiences of family life, care, living with isolation, the workplace and home-schooling. We want to hear them all, to help us build a picture of how everyone was affected by the pandemic and help us learn lessons for the future.
All future confirmed Every Story Matters events are available on the Inquiry’s website, with the next taking place in Southampton and Coventry later this year.
Members of the public do not need to visit an event to contribute to Every Story Matters. They can do so right now anonymously. Full details of how to tell your story can be found on the inquiry website.