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please circulate this

Sunderland will be hosting its first 'Community Barcamp' on Monday 24th November at the Stadium of Light.

BarCamps are democratic, user generated conferences — open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcamp).

The event, which is FREE to attend and runs from 6 til 8pm, will bring together people that use services in the community with the people that build and provide them to talk about how technology can improve everyone’s life.

· Relaxed, social setting

Hi,

I've just posted more detailed info about Sunderland's IT in the Community conference in late November. It strucjk me that this will bring together a good handful of like-minded individuals that may wish to participate in a fringe programme of barcamp-type gatherings etc.

Big question for me , though.

I've never organised unstructured programmes etc like this before. How do you kick something like that away? Do you think people would be interested? What would need to be provided?

Thanks
Graham

Please find attached details of a conference being organised by colleagues in Sunderland.

IT in the Community
The Importance of the Use of Digital Technology and Innovation to Promote Social Inclusion

25th and 26th November 2008
Sunderland, The Stadium of Light
This National Conference will demonstrate the use of digital technology and innovation to promote social inclusion. The conference will also show the importance of the integration of technology, community engagement, empowerment and capacity building programmes.

Who would benefit from attending:

Following a similar event last year and hot on the heels of Digital Mentors and Digital Challenge, I have received notification of a forthcoming national conference from colleagues at Sunderland City Council. If you have any comments, suggestions or would like further information please contact debbie.ross@sunderland.gov.uk.

Hi All,

A quick formal notification that the National IT in the Community Conference will be held in Sunderland for the second year this year.

This is a great interview of Dan McQuillan by David Wilcox at last week's UK Catalyst Awards which gives me real encouragement. It's a real pity that people in CLG will not be able to watch this (unless they do it from home).

Over the last five weeks of my part-time secondment I've been trying to join things up so that Government supported 'awards' and 'competitions' have pathways into funding for innovation and that one funding pot links across to another etc. I'd also like to see Government funding act in a catalytic way by helping the networks that build up around events (like 2gether08, Shine, UK Catalyst Awards) to maintain themselves on an ongoing basis so that ideas can feed off ideas, innovators can meet other innovators and investors, commissioners and so on.

Although, it has to said, that I have been pushing on open doors . . . there are still one or two barriers to be overcome. Watching Dan's interview is a great encouragement.

No time to read the whole white paper? Here are the keywords in the Empowerment White Paper: Communities in Control in a single graphic.

Produced using Wordle. The input text was from the core of the White Paper only. It excludes forewards and footnotes. The words 'will', 'can' and 'also' have been removed. Thanks to Steve Dale for drawing Wordle to my attention.

. . . . while the conversations go on around her. Well done CLG!

Visit CLG's pageflakes aggregator here: www.pageflekes.com/ewp

Hazel Blears' has started tweeting today and a blog is to follow shortly. You can follow her here: http://twitter.com/communitiesuk

The RSS feed is:
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