DC10plus Ready for Take-off with new Digital Inclusion Minister
April 28, 2008 Posted by Stephen Hilton in : Digital Challenge, Bristol, Events, Technology, Connecting Bristol, DC10 , 1 comment so farAcross England, DC10 partners are dusting-off their best business suits in readiness for the formal launch of the DC10plus network, which is taking place in London on Tuesday at the Third National Digital Inclusion conference… in a place called the Brewery (result!)
It is also apt that Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of the RSA is chairing the event. It was Matthew, in his former Cabinet office role, who dreamt-up the idea of the Digital Challenge… from which the DC10plus is now born.
Amongst the all-star line-up of speakers are the new Digital Inclusion Minister, the Rt. Hon. Paul Murphy MP and the Minister for Schools, Jim Knight MP.
Our very own Stephen Dodson will be presenting the DC10’s vision and programme. Stephen is an excellent conference speaker and we are expecting great things from him. Emma Aqusita of Bristol’s Knowle West Media Centre has worked hard to create a dynamic afternoon workshop, which promises to be very hands-on.
Public-i will be webcasting the event. So if you are unable to attend, you will be able to see the key speeches on the DC10plus website. David Wilcox will also be acting as a raporteur during the conference and workshops, capturing less formal video interviews with speakers and delegates in order to find out what people really think about digital inclusion.
The Connecting Bristol Team will be there in strength, as both Kevin and I are attending. We also look forward to catching-up with some South West friends from COSMIC and Bristol Wireless.
The DC10 sees this event as the start of a conversation about Digital Inclusion. Please join the debate.
Knowle West Media Centre
April 7, 2008 Posted by Makala Cheung in : Digital Challenge, e-democracy, Bristol, Community Media, Regeneration, South Bristol, Events, Mentoring, News, Learning, Skills, Environment, Connecting Bristol, Guest Bloggers , add a commentI’m Press and Communications worker for the Knowle West Media Centre. We offer cutting edge media services and facilities from our new environmental building, and exciting hands on learning alongside professional practitioners. We are strongly embedded in the local community and run various groups for residents, especially young people.
My role involves doing press and marketing for KWMC, editor for the community newsletter, running parts of the community website http://www.knowlewest.co.uk (including the events pages), community communication both face-to-face with residents, clubs and organisations, facilitating Mouth of the South (more below) and taking part in community events, networks, and city-wide work for example I took part in Connecting Bristol’s bid to the Digital Challenge.
The new Knowle West Media Centre at Leinster Avenue will be holding its official 2 day opening event this week. Young people who work with Knowle West Media Centre will launch the two day programme of celebration on Thursday 10th April when they officially open the £2.6m green new HQ that they helped to plan, design and build. The opening ceremony will mark the successful end of a 5 year project to provide Knowle West with a beacon of creative and climate-friendly media enterprise, where young people can develop the technological skills demanded by the digital age.
Thursday 10th April 12pm-5pm
Official opening of KWMC by the Archimedia Core Group and KWMCC Director Carolyn Hassan from 12pm, this will be followed by building tours and displays of each departments work, as well as film screenings and projects and performances by young people and community groups.Then at 3.30pm Matthew Taylor, Chief Exec of the Royal Society of Arts, will speak about Young People, Media and Community.
Friday 11th April 2pm-5pm
Friday will see an opening of KWMC by local residents and Key Funders of the building, including Bristol City Council, South West Regional Development Agency and Arts Council SW. Again there will be film screenings, exhibitions, story telling sessions and tree planting.
To join us on this landmark occasion please RSVP to Katie Taylor at Katie@kwmc.org.uk by 7th April.
Please note children under 10 must be accompanied by an adult.
You will be able to find out more about us and meet some of the young people we work with. Examples of our groups include:
AMAZING ARCHIVE GROUP - A Young Roots Heritage Lottery Funded project for 12 – 25 year olds researching their heritage in and around Knowle West.
In June 2008 an exhibition will present the work of the group and invite the community to become involved in creating a ‘living’ archive for Knowle West.
KNOWLE WEST CARBON MAKEOVER- Knowle West Media Centre is working with 100 homes to be part of this exciting year-long environmental project. The project team will support the families in making changes to their homes and lifestyles looking at the different themes of climate change, for example, shopping locally.
DIGITAL FISH FILM CLUB - A young person-led club for 13-19 year olds, open to young people from Knowle West and South Bristol. They make short films and animations; as well as holding holiday film clubs, and workshops on acting, music recording, scriptwriting etc. The group’s work has won national awards and often run trips to screenings of our work all over the country.
SILVERSCREEN FILM CLUB - Over 50’s Film Club with regular screenings, host guest speakers, an extensive DVD library and cinema visits both in Bristol and further a field. Transport to events if required, and a selection of refreshments. It is open to all over 50’s from Knowle West and South Bristol.
MOUTH OF THE SOUTH - Our young journalists group is for 11-16 year olds and sessions include;
Newsletter - design, writing, interviewing and photography
Website: www.kwmc.org.uk/mos which includes radio and film projects
NLARGE PHOTOGRAPHY - Our photography group for 13-19 year olds is open to young people from Knowle West and South Bristol. The group follow an in depth and exciting programme learning all aspects of photography from a wide range of professional photographers. The Nlarge team take professional commissions and work towards becoming a sustainable enterprise led by young people.
To find out more about us go to http://www.kwmc.org.uk
Meanwhile, I have a workshop to prepare for - The newsletter drop-in club. The newsletter is nearing deadline, and residents will be meeting tonight, and I will be helping them in editing and designing all the new stories I received from residents and local workers over the last week.
So until tomorrow, everyone have a nice evening (whether the sun is shining or it’s snowing - who knows after yesterday’s weather), and if you happen to be reading this weeks Venue, there’s a double spread about us on page 24.
Makala x
Thank You Professor Stephen Coleman, Welcome Makala Cheung
April 6, 2008 Posted by Stephen Hilton in : Digital Challenge, Bristol, South Bristol, Guest Bloggers , 2 commentsI would like to thank Professor Stephen Coleman for being this week’s guest blogger on Connecting Bristol. Who could have predicted that we would have such a lively (and for some, strangely cathartic) discussion? I am sure that Stephen and his colleagues in the Centre for Digital Citizenship at Leeds University will note any further contributions that appear in the threads he has in itiated over the next week or so.
The International Centre for Local e-Democracy, ICELE, has been the focus of much of this week’s discussion. It is positive that the centre can still attract such a high level of interest. However, we have not heard from the centre’s staff team or Board directly. We would, of course, be delighted if ICELE wished to be a guest blogger at some time in the near future… perhaps to put forward a different side of the story?
But for now, I am delighted to introduce Makala Cheung who will be the Connecting Bristol guest blogger for the coming week.
Makala is Press and Communications Officer at Knowle West Media Centre and is proud to be a local resident. Makala says, “I work in the area I live in - Knowle West. I love that I can walk to work, feel connected to my local community, and I can tackle my work from a residents as well as workers perspective. I love the Media Centre, because it supports my personal and career growth and learning, just as it does for the community”
Makala shares her own story here in a digital story that she produced to accompany Bristol’s Digital Challenge bid.
Makala will be blogging live as the new state-of-the-art and environmentally friendly Knowle West Media Centre officially open to the community with help from Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of the RSA Whilst at the Cabinet Office, Matthew initiated the Digital Challenge, inadvertently creating the process that led to Connecting Bristol and the DC10plus. If only he’d known…
DC10plus Map
March 17, 2008 Posted by Kevin in : Digital Challenge, Bristol, Connecting Bristol, DC10 , 1 comment so farThe DC10 is the country’s Digital Inclusion Network. Connecting Bristol is a key participant in the group. The 10 founder members are shown on the google map below. As new organisations join the network we will add their location to the map. Interested companies, authorities, third sector organisations and academic institutions will be able to sign up to the DC10plus network through the new website which is being developed by Bristol company Nameless. The site will be launched in advance of the National Digital Inclusion Event on 29th April.
