Archive for the ‘e-participation’ Category

Based on US statistics from the Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA) – their latest ‘broadband infographic’ details the connection between Broadband utilisation and the impact on the local economy, and in particular the beneficial effect this can have on job retention, creation and employment opportunities.

So, reiterating what Digital Birmingham has been saying for years:

The Ten Facts

The IIA appears to be America’s counterpart to Digital Birmingham, as it seeks to promote US public policies that support equal opportunity for universal broadband availability and adoption so that everyone, everywhere can seize the benefits of the Internet – from education to health care, employment to community building, civic engagement and beyond.

So, lets get all the US stats out of the way and I’d be really interested in finding out whether the UK has an equivalent body other than the Office of National Statistics (ONS) or West Midlands Regional Observatory, but in the meantime the Strategic Networks Group (SNG) has created a Digital Economy Index (DEi), which not surprisingly, the research shows that age and income have very significant impacts on how people use the Internet.  The proprietary Digital Economy Index summarises how households use thirty distinct Internet activities.  The higher the DEi, the more Internet activities a household engages in.  The Digital Economy index progression from 1 to 10 (10 being highest) reflects the number of e-solutions being utilised – 10 being a household at 100% utlisation.

Utilisation is impacted by income and age – the lower a household income or the older the household, the lower its Internet utilisation.  The differences (or divide) is most pronounced for those over 55 and those making less than $50,000.

So the digital divide is actually expanding as younger, higher income households best leverage e-solutions.

Congratulations to a Midlands digital project which has been awarded an international ‘Car Magazine of the Year’ award at the Digital Magazine Awards, judged by Microsoft,
Yudu, The Telegraph, Quark and WIRED magazine.

The RubberDuckMag, was the only award-winner from the Midlands, and is leading the way in its interactive functions, but also embraces sign language.

A new Fab report has been released showing digital engagement with Arts & Culture.  This is the first time this type of information has been collected in the UK.  Well done to Arts & Business, Arts Council and MLA.  Findings show that a whopping 53% of us have used the internet to engage with the arts and cultural sector in the last 12 months digital-engagement-with-arts-culture-nov-2010

I received a fab little video this morning from LGTV in which Martha Lane Fox was being interviewed on the benefits of being digitally included, as part of her ‘Race Online’ campaign.  Its great to see someone so close to Central Government sending out such powerful messages. Take a look at the full interview here

The dates for the Birmingham Open Weekend 2010, part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, have been confirmed as 23 – 25 July 2010.

As part of Cultural Olympiad, Say Hello, Aston Pride, the BBC and Digital Birmingham will be on hand to showcase the Digital Time Capsule where you, the people of Birmingham, will be able to record and upload your memorable moment in the form of a video, an image and/or audio file etc.

Come and join the team in Victoria Square on Friday 23 July 2010 from 10am – 4pm and be a part of Birmimgham’s digital journey!

The Central Birmingham Social Media Surgery are monthly events held to help community and voluntary groups use the social web to benefit their organisations.

Digital Birmingham are pleased to announce that the next events are due to take place on:

7 July – at the Balsall Health Forum, The Tree Nursery, 82-89 St. Pauls Road, Balsall Heath, Birmingham. B12 8LS  between 6.00pm and 7.30pm.

15 July -  at the Studio, 7 Cannon Street, off New Street, Birmingham. B2 5EP between 5.30pm and 7.00pm.

To sign up for either of these events, please click here.

Birmingham City University are hosting a one day digital participation seminar on 19th July.

It intends to provide a forum for discussion of the meaning and measurability of Digital Participation, focusing on the three main measurables promoted by the Digital Participation Consortium – Reach, Breadth, Depth.

It will include contributions from Ofcom, following publication of their initial statistics bulletin on digital participation. In addition it will hear about the role of the UK Research Council funded Digital Economy Hub at Newcastle University and from the Arts Council and Audiences Central on the experience they have in measuring participation in the arts. More – Measuring the Unmeasurable: Digital Participation Seminar

Following on from the Martha Lane Fox visit to Birmingham last week, I have attached the discussion notes from the parallel workshop that took place and findings shared with Martha Lane Fox. Any thoughts, please let us know and we can feed these in.

I have also included a short video clip where Martha Lane Fox talks about her role as Champion for Digital Inclusion.
Please enable Javascript and Flash to view this Viddler video.

As part of the Martha Lane Fox visit to Birmingham, we ran a workshop to engage people working in digital inclusion with those in economic development and regeneration; staff promoting jobs and skills with those advising businesses and helping communities. The aim of the workshop was to examine the importance of the digital inclusion of citizens and businesses (i.e. their access, confidence and competence in using digital technologies) to enable economic recovery.

Catherine Marshall, Member of the Digital Inclusion Task Force who attended the workshop has kindly provided us with her reflections on the workshop:

As a member of Martha Lane Fox’s Digital Inclusion Task Force, I was delighted to be invited to attend the event hosted by Digital Birmingham Yesterday
Supported by an impressive turn out of delegates from Birmingham City Council and the surrounding Boroughs the event gave an invaluable opportunity to discuss some of the barriers that prevent those who are most socially excluded accessing digital technology, and explore what intervention or strategies need to be applied to overcome these difficulties.

As always, there is no one size fits all, and as Digital Inclusion is inextricably linked to Social Inclusion, understanding the complexities of the task at hand is as intricate as the solutions need to be.

All recognised the solutions needs to be applied at grass route level; and being provided with snap shots of on the ground work that is taking place, is always a constant confirmation of this, proving how being digitally connected dramatically improves peoples life chances and opportunities.

The event was incredibly positive, acknowledging that getting people on line is a matter of urgency, and the need to make an impact, by promoting social responsibility and the common goal, with the need to encourage pledges from all areas including the private sectors, to get on board and work together to close the digital divide.

As Martha concluded, “working together, there is an opportunity to achieve something really special”

It is clear that Digital Birmingham has the determination to make a real difference and achieve the ‘really special’ results it is looking for.
Catherine Marshall
Member of the Digital Inclusion Task Force