engagingly different
DESCRIPTION
My keynote presentation for Future Dem 10 showing politicians, police, councillors, mayors and decision-makers engaged with their communities in ways some people may find quite unexpected. Digital technologies afford new and different approaches to old problems such as anti-social behavior, postindustrial decline and regeneration. However, to achieve digital inclusion we have to consider digital relevance and promote digital enthusiasm. Democracy works best when communities engage their elected representatives, not just the other way round. In showing the unexpected, I hope I may challenge some of the preconceived ideas about engagement and inclusion and invite people to consider new approaches.TRANSCRIPT
Steve Thompson
Institute of Digital Innovation
Teesside University
Engagingly Different
An alternative perspective on inclusion
Teesside – A Place of Former Industries
The ERDF Resider Project in 2000 – Tees Valley Communities Online
To engage 7 former steel communities
Digital technologies afford new and different approaches to old problems such as anti-social behavior, post-industrial decline and regeneration.
To achieve digital inclusion we have to:
• consider digital relevance.• promote digital enthusiasm.
Democracy works best when communities engage their elected representatives, not just the other way round.
(Middlebrough 2002)
In the early days I thought e-democracy was about e-debates and e-voting
Engagement is a two way street
1.Engage communities2.Engage decision makers and authority figures
I hope the following slides and stories will show different (and hopefully innovative) ways to achieve this two-way engagement process.
A Digital Village is a space where a community expresses their identity though ICT and Digital Media. This may be from an artistic, heritage, or economic perspective or a mixture of all three. This can be done through poetry, digital stories, community newspapers online, image collections (old and new), audio (Internet radio, oral history), animations, video, and text.
(Steve Thompson – Institute of Digital Innovation, Teesside University)
The misappropriation of tools e.g. the head-cam
The misappropriation of tools e.g. the head-cam
The humble webcam as a Community Media tool
Sometimes withSurprising results
Way back in 2001 – The first ever online pub quiz
The Trimdon Team
Coming right up to date
Charltons – A Digital Evening
Charltons – A Digital Evening
Charltons – A Digital Evening
Charltons – A Digital Evening - Tom Belenkinsop MP
His predecessor – the late Dr Ashok Kumar MP
A derelict Jetty over 100 years old
A derelict Jetty over 100 years old
The community wanted to vision the future so we refurbished it in Second Life
And asked Ashok Kumar MP to launch it
Dr Ashok Kumar MP
Children attended the matinee screening of the film we made of the Jetty re-launch
And the Mayor of Redcar & Cleveland presided over the evening screening
Australia
London
Tuscanny
Sunderland
Open University Brighton
Italy
The Mayor invites us to Council Chambers
Australia
London
Tuscanny
Sunderland
Open University Brighton
Italy
60 Elected Members attend
Australia
London
Tuscanny
Sunderland
Open University Brighton
Italy
And we are able to present our vision for the future
Australia
London
Tuscanny
Sunderland
Open University Brighton
Italy
And make our pitch for their support
Australia
London
Tuscanny
Sunderland
Open University Brighton
Italy
The Mayor Visits the real Jetty
The Mayor Visits The SL Jetty
II wI wan
“I Want to be in a movie too”
Cleveland Police wished to make stronger ties with their communities
Another Film was suggested
We worked with a variety of agencies
To produce “The Force is With You”
What Next ? – Looks like Cleveland Police left a time machine lying about !
Involved The School, The Community, The Police, The Mining Museum, The History Society
A new production
Involved are: The School, The Community, The Police, The Mining Museum, The History Society
Re-enactment of a scene from the past
Whitecliffe Primary School, Cleveland Police,East Cleveland Ironstone Mining Museum
Featuring Inspector Bell as you’ve never seen him before
The event has helped Loftus Town Council to develop and strengthen links with community groups in the area, which can only bode well for inclusive partnership working in the future.
A Load Of Wastepipe from B&Q
Loftus Town Hall Delivery
This is NOT in the Clarke to the Town Council’s job description
Explaining - The Theory
Test Builds in Loftus
East Cleveland Ironstone Mine
Now A Museum
Goes Back Into Production
Production
The “Elected Volunteers” of Loftus Town Council
Top Secret
This is what they did
They built an “Octorama”
The top “brass” came
As well as schools, the public, politicians, local dignitries
www.tvcm.co.uk/ironage/
This is what it looked like: On a Schools Visit
And these were some of the effects…………………….
Thank You