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I spent the first half of today at the rather random Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (in the posh part of town) learning about FutureLab’s Greater Expectations project. And much that I want to support this kind of work, and appreciate that significant sums of money are being put into projects like this, I came away a bit non-plussed and feeling more frustrated than excited.
One of the problems is that the scope of the project seems so broad that it’s difficult to grasp exactly what scale and impact they see this having. I sat through the presentation and discussion and felt a bit stupid for asking for specifics – some personas or actual examples of young people using this resource for real. And I wasn’t blown away by the example given.
My main problem with the project is that there didn’t seem to be anything in there that wasn’t already available. You want to engage with decision-makers? There’s WriteToThem for that. Want to know how to report graffiti? FixMyStreet can do that. Want something to do after school? Here comes Plings. Want to do something positive in your community? Try do-it.org.uk. Want to know what Universial Declaration of Human Rights are? There’s a brilliant video that will tell you. Want to set up a social enterprise in your school? G-Nation does that. Want some work experience? Hit Wexo. Want to campaign to make the world a better place? Ctrl.Alt.Shift is a good place to start. Want to set up something closer to home? Turn off at Junction 49. Want to have your say on education policy? Head to Edge. Want to get creative? Blast, IdeasTap, or ChewTV to name a few. Wannabe policy wonk? Get involved with BYC. Etc etc etc.
None of these are perfect, but they are far further down the road of providing practical ways young people can use new media to learn and engage in their communities and society in general than attempting to build an overarching project that tries to do all of these things (or at least links through to them).
I’ve nothing against duplicity of services, as an element of competition can be healthy; but there are too many half-baked ideas that were initially well-funded, but then, as with most third-sector projects, too much was demanded in too short a time and the end project is more “what could have been” rather than what actually is. Then a year later someone comes along to try and create exactly the same project, only that is underfunded and another half-baked project is launched. It’d be great if one day a funder came along and said “here’s some money to finish that project properly”.
The second major problem with the Greater Expectations website was it was unclear why a young person would go there over any other the existing services. Not wanting to push as an educational resource sounds fine in principle, but it’s difficult to see without a significant marketing campaign how young people would actively go and seek it out. 80% of most website traffic comes from search, and they are as likely to find the existing services as this new one.
My suggestion for FutureLab, give your money to existing services to create a re-versioned website, which is “young people friendly”. You could create them under a common brand. That will have a lot more impact for a lot less cash, and has the added advantage of giving older young people the choice of using the default service, and conversely a youth version that can be advertised on the main website (”Are you under 18? You might prefer our youth version”).
I hope that the above isn’t perceived as bluntly negative about the project, but it’s difficult to get excited about another website aiming to make a positive difference to young people’s lives. And I’d like to thank FutureLab for the opportunity to meet some interesting people and get a flavour of what is going on out there.
PS. A quick stroll around Google led me to RSA’s Brainjuicer, sounds similar to the Greater Expectations project.
Usual conflict declaration applies. YouthNet runs do-it.org.uk, and Citizenship Foundation is responsible for G-Nation.
Photo credit: Carf. Used under licence.
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Tonight I went to the Charter 88 20th Anniversary Lecture, where Nick Clegg was the key speaker and Helena Kennedy and Ferdinand Mount also spoke. Described as Liberal Democrat, liberal socialist and liberal conservative respectively – it does demonstrate that all parties can (and should) be concerned about reforming the political process… even those currently in power.
Nick’s key message in his speech was that in a time of economic uncertainty, it’s even more important that politics is reformed to make it accountable. He likened the current state of British politics with the widely held view of the city: there is a select group of unaccountable leaders, perceived to be out-of-touch with the population at large who are acting in their own interests and using public resources unwisely (I paraphrase). The storm over Lords accepting bribes for ‘fixing’ amendments only reinforces that perception.
If we want young people to be engaged in politics then we’ve got to have politics worth engaging with.
Photo credit: Lib Dems. Used under licence.
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Yesterday, in a frightfully posh office in that bit of London between Moorgate and the Thames that I have never quite worked out, I plotted the future of citizenship. Or at least the future of the Citizenship Foundation, or which I am a trustee.
Citizenship is in an odd place at the moment. After years of campaigning, it’s on the curriculum and that should make us happy. But actually there is a threat that it’ll come off the curriculum already, and that threat alone has meant it’s not being taken seriously by many schools, or politicians for that matter.
And yet, the concept of what Citizenship is about appears to be at the heart of every piece of government and third sector strategy. Promote ways that young people can make a positive difference to their community. Involve them. Make them bothered about what’s going on around them. Improve turnout at election. Promote young people volunteering. Invest in social enterprise. Citizenship is everywhere, and it’s one of the five key Every Child Matters outcomes.
The government wants to see schools be integrated into the communities they serve. It recognises that young people won’t have a great future if they are brilliant at trigonometry and Shakespeare but don’t get democracy or care about anything to want to make it better.
Since the Citizenship Foundation was set up twenty years ago, the landscape that it operates has changed massively. Many of their projects are now being done by other organisations, who tend to specialise in one particular area.
Does it matter if Citizenship falls off the statutory curriculum? It would be inconvenient, but it wasn’t on there to begin with and plenty of schools taught Citizenship (or at least something vaguely representing it). There’s a school of thought that says Citizenship will be improved by being optional… teachers will do it because they want to rather than because they have been told to. There’s also a school of thought, of which I have a sympathetic agreement with, that Citizenship shouldn’t be taught in the classroom by people you have to call Sir and Madam, it should be delivered in the community by youth workers and peers.
What’s important is that young people are given the skills and knowledge to be able to participate as positive citizens in their local community. How they gain those is really not important. And so I think diversifying the delivery of Citizenship education can only be a good thing.
Photo credit: carf. Used under licence.
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I used to blog. And then I didn’t. Then I moved to YouthNet, where there is a policy of encouraging staff to blog. As I look to make my next move after YouthNet, I’m aware I need to remain blogging to remain part of the conversation.
I’m not going to deny that my decision to start this blog was in part to increase my web visibility and hopefully improve my chances of getting a new job in this difficult economic climate. But the concept of ‘Futureproof’ has been knocking around in my head for a while. Youth participation is brilliant, and I’m a total advocate for involving young people in decisions that directly and indirectly them. But participation can’t abdicate adults of their responsibility. It’s still in ‘the crusties’ interest to make sure young people have the best start in their lives, and work to make sure the tools and services are in place to help them.
I hope this blog will be a mixture of best practice examples, will highlight areas where we need to improve, and like all good blogs will encourage lively discussion, debate and the odd surprise. I don’t set out to be provocative, but I’m also no wallflower, so I’ll be honest with my opinions (I’ve got previous when it comes to upsetting people via blogs).
Finally, editorial is my day job, so if I drop the odd spelling or grammar error in, please accept that just as accountants are often the worst when it comes to budgeting at home, and nurses are the least healthiest, can I have a little time off from worrying where I put the apostrophe?
Thanks people.
Photo credit: Annie Mole. Used under licence.
