"£9 million for young people to become social entrepreneurs" | 22 December 2008

"Children and Young People’s Minister Beverley Hughes today unveiled £9 million for a new scheme to help young people spearhead and deliver ideas for positive activities, helping them at the same time to become young social entrepreneurs.

Funding and practical support will be available for young people to think of new ideas for positive activities, which could be anything from sport to music to art, which they will then deliver in their local communities, on Friday and Saturday nights. Third sector organisations are today invited to bid to run the scheme and support the young people involved."

Taken from DCSF press release.

Posted in: Children & young people | Funding | News

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Myplace Awards announced | 10 December 2008

The first round of Myplace awards has just been announced by DCSF.

These include:

• New Horizon Youth Centre, Camden, London
• The Sutton Life Centre, Sutton, London
• The Salmon Youth Centre, Bermondsey, London
• TaB Centre Plus, Enfield, London
• New Life Centre, Hartlepool
• The Hub, Barnard Castle
• Bradley Youth Hub, Pendle
• Carlisle Youth Zone, Carlisle
• The Hub, Dartford
• The Pegasus Theatre Project, Oxford
• Access All Areas, Bridgwater
• Dawlish Integrated Youth Centre, Dawlish
• Minehead EYE, Minehead
• The Primetime Project, Bournemouth
• The Young Person’s Village, Stoke-on-Trent
• The Green Rivers Centre, Bloxwich, Walsall
• The Big Hub, Leeds
• My Place Chesterfield
• Hinckley Club for Young People, Leicestershire
• OPEN Centre Project, Norwich
• Shoeburyness Youth Centre, Shoeburyness.

Posted in: Children & young people | Funding | News

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The Jodi Awards 2008 (jodi2008) | 9 December 2008

Jodi Award Winners 2008

Taken from MLA News Bulletin.

Kevin Carey, Vice Chair of the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), called for renewed effort to make UK digital culture accessible for all at the 2008 Jodi Awards on Friday December 5, 2008, at the British Museum, London.

In a typically passionate speech Kevin outlined a new reality for culture creators, publishers and producers. He called for the setting up of a national Centre for Excellence for Accessible Media funded by the public, commercial and third sectors.

“If we go on training disadvantaged people, including those with impairments, in a fragmented accessibility and usability ecology, to acquire what are called 'basic' skills in accessing and processing information, we will doom them to be poor.”

Kevin's speech preceded the giving of the 2008 Jodi Awards. The awards are for museums, galleries, libraries, archives and heritage venues that use technology to provide access to collections and learning for disabled people, e.g. websites, interactive objects, audio-guides, PDAs and virtual reality shows.

The awards, sponsored by RNIB and supported by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, were presented by Kevin Carey and preceded by an introduction from Andy Minnion, Director of the Rix Centre.

Lord Low, Chair of RNIB, was present at the ceremony, as were representatives from many shortlisted museums and galleries.

Named in memory of Jodi Mattes (1973-2001), who worked as part of the British Museum's web team and later at the RNIB, the awards honour Jodi's efforts to ensure the museum's COMPASS website was as accessible as possible. Jodi's parents, Harry and Esther Mattes, and sister Sara, attended the award ceremony.

2008 Jodi Awards - the winners

1. Excellence for people with a learning disability, in association with the Rix Centre, London

Outside In Pathways, for their project in which a group of people with learning disabilities made films using digital technology at the V&A museum, London.

2. Excellence in accessible digital media

The National Trust, for their virtual tour pilot project. 12 virtual tours were developed, and four more are in production. All this from a national charity that involved disabled people in making accessible media that could genuinely and substantially improve the experiences of disabled visitors.

3. Excellence with a low budget - Web accessibility

In this category, a COMMENDATION was awarded to the Thackray Museum in Leeds, and their website redevelopment project. The museum consulted young visually impaired people from Henshaws College in York and incorporated a range of their recommendations into the design.

4. Excellence in Web accessibility

Awarded to the British Museum for its BSL Schools Web Project

In this project young deaf people produced signed curriculum resources for young deaf people, working with Frank Barnes School and media company Remark.

This outstanding project is well thought out, carefully framed and cleanly presented, bringing together a creative and appropriate mix of users, artists and designers with expertise in the area of BSL.

5. Excellence in accessible digital media on a low budget

The Jodi judges have decided not to award a prize for accessible digital media excellence on a low budget this year.

Posted in: D/deaf people | Disability - general | Disability - learning disabilities | Disability - visual impairment | News

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