local comment
The idea of producing a gallery of photographs taken on mobiles to involve youngsters in highlighting what’s important to them is instantly attractive. So here’s the work of John, Shrek, Krusty, Jonathan, and Danny Boy. It’s part of initiative to involve young people in politics – yes- that is local politics. Alongside their photographs (are they all boys?) are the local councilors’ photographs (yawn). Councilor James Joyce - the name’s a laugh (parents must have had a sense of humour) - seems to be at the forefront of this escapade. OK, to be fair there’s an honest attempt at relevant participation using new media here, but then again it’s subsidised by O2, which makes me wonder whether it’s more about participating in O2 than in the local political process.
Hi Guy,
ReplyDeleteLet me allay your fears.
They're not all boys. Firstly Krusty is a girl! And in BeaconLifeSwap (www.beaconlifeswap.org.uk) about half were girls. The reason for so many boys in Norfolk was that they chose vulnerable young people who were leaving care and I think I'm right to say that there are more boys than girls in that situation.
Secondly the commercialisation bit. The idea for the event came from Norfolk County Council, we produced it for them and in order to bring costs down, we asked O2 to supply the phones and the credit on the phones which they very generously did so saving Norfolk approx £1,500.
That said, I'm glad you liked the site.
Many thanks for taking the trouble to leave your comments - they're certainly illuminating, and what an interesting project!
ReplyDelete