Celebrating new skills

Celebration 2.0 [1] aims to engage people who might otherwise think new technologies and social media have little to offer them by demonstrating how much fun and entertainment can be had by exploring new avenues.

The project is managed by Talk About Local [2], working with independent consultant John Popham [1]. It builds on the example of the cricket-playing farmers who found themselves the subject of national media attention after taking part in the first online broadcast of an English village cricket match – sparked by a random Twitter comment. The players were subsequently contacted by Facebook friends around the world who had witnessed their exploits online.

The World's First Live Broadcast of a Village Cricket Match caught the attention of the BBC.

Exploring new technologies

Talk About Local is dedicated to helping people find a powerful online voice for their community. It helps local people to understand the benefits of running their own local websites and teaches them how to generate their own content using web and mobile technologies.

The Celebration 2.0 project in particular is all about identifying longstanding events that are important to communities and helping local community members to explore the potential of new technology to complement and even enhance their celebrations. Supported by Nominet Trust, it focuses on demonstrating how new technologies can be used to engage larger and wider sections of communities and passing on the skills and knowledge local people need to do this for themselves in the future.

A fun experience

The project organisers recognise that people are much more likely to take to something they first learn as part of a fun experience, and they are more likely to stick with it if they think it will bring them future enjoyment.

So the idea is that the Celebration 2.0 project will enhance community celebrations and community enjoyment by using new technologies to elevate the celebration of local traditions. At the same time, it will also build legacies of skills and capacities that help communities engage wider audiences and tell their stories to the world.