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Comment on The Low Carbon Communities Network on Facebook by Tracey's Blog » Blog Archive » The Low Carbon Communities Network … – The Facebook News

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:56:43 +0000

[...] Tracey Todhunter wrote an interesting post today onTracey's Blog Â» Blog Archive Â» The Low Carbon Communities Network …Here’s a quick excerpt [...]

Comment on Why I’m tweeting for Colalife by Simon

Simon — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:00:15 +0000

Thanks for your support Tracey and for bringing this to the attention of your readers. I hope some can make it to Trafalgar Square this Friday at 3pm or support us online.
With best wishes
Simon

Comment on Digital Torment by Michael Grimes

Michael Grimes — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:35:12 +0000

Thanks for a thought-provoking post Tracey. I share your concern, though I suspect that ‘those that have’ are always likely to identify what they have as being of value and wanting others to share in that. I don’t think we can escape that.

However I do think we need to be very careful not to presume that what ‘we’ have is necessarily better than what ‘they’ have (whoever ‘we’ and ‘they’ may be). The tech is simply a tool, and if people don’t want or need it they shouldn’t feel expected to embrace it.

What’s important to me is that we help everyone – with all their different levels of technical expertise – can live together, and engage effectively, in our ‘multi-tech’ society.

Comment on Digital Torment by Paul Webster

Paul Webster — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 12:49:14 +0000

Hi, from another person fitting your sterotype, although would argue against the middle-class bit.

I’ve also posted some thoughts over on the Digital Mentor blog that echo your points.

No-one is hard to reach from a VCS perspective, we’ve decades of experience working alongside these communities and groups, meeting them in the places where they are (not taking them into schools and libraries where they feel out of place). If the Digital Mentor initiative is to really reach the final third it has to build face to face trust first using people from within the communities before lauching inot use of FlipCamera-ugimawhotsits to help them grow digitally.

Yes, thse people will meet in damp church halls, yes, they will only be open for 2 hours on a Tuesday evening, yes, they will be 10 miles down a country lane with flakey broadband (or none at all), yes there will be cultural and language to overcome …. these all need to be part of the picture.

DC10plus have piloted a number of very innovative ideas (some being shown at events later this month) working wuth the “high-placed-and-with-a-tough-stalk fruit” groups.

I want to see the ideas these communities have developed adopted wider and Digital Mentors within the Muslim Women, Homeless, Single Parent communities encouraged to play their part.

Loving the debate !

Comment on Digital Torment by Tim Davies

Tim Davies — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:36:18 +0000

Key points. I’ve not really been following the digital mentors discussions so far – but realising I should engage to check we’re not missing out on opportunities to engage excluded young people.

Ultimately introducing the the digital is only one part of engaging excluded groups – any group running the digital mentors will need to focus on community development and people’s social networks (and not at all in a digital sense) as well as helping people develop their confidence and basic skills sets as much as they will need to focus on the digital.

Part of the reason us white middle class university educated blokes are so active in the networks is that universities and middle class communities create pre-existing national networks which have been transferred online.

Working out the balance between introducing the tech, and acting to develop communities and networks is I guess the big challenge for any digital mentors bid.

Comment on Digital Torment by Digital Mentor » Reaching the excluded

Digital Mentor » Reaching the excluded — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:32:25 +0000

[...] Tracey Todhunter has written a passionate post about the need for digital mentors to embrace various community groups and demographics, and not just focus on the already tech-savvy: But, as the conversations continue I begin to feel a little bit uneasy that crucial partners are missing in the debate. Looking at some forums I’d make a guess that the majority of contributors are white middle class males with a university education and a plethora of social media whizzardry (is that a word?) at their disposal. I apologise immediately to Clare White and others who are also joining in – but forgive me for asking – how many of the contributors to this debate are real bona fide grass roots communities who are reaching out and getting these new technologies into their projects and communities? Where are the guys from the Traveller Community, the single women living on benefits in the “rough” parts of town, the wheelchair users, the deaf, the young? Some people might call them the “hard to reach”, but I prefer to think they are just being “easily overlooked”. How will those bidding for the Digital Mentor tender ensure that these grassroots groups (many of whom are volunteers but just as capable of sharing their skills and knowledge as the professionals) are heard and able to participate in the design and develoment of services? [...]

Comment on Zero Carbon Cities by Patrick Crossfield

Patrick Crossfield — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 08:08:58 +0000

Like most other developments in this increasingly consumerist world, business has seen an opportunity to make money out of this type of activity. Reminds me of Nero, and something to do with Rome burning…….

Comment on Zero Carbon Cities by Derek Smith

Derek Smith — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 16:57:53 +0000

Carbon offsetting fails to address the real issue and does nothing to change habits of a lifetime. There does not appear to be any audit trail so how do you know if and when such monies are invested? There are of course individuals who have global travel commitments due to their work but companies should also be considering the use of technology such as webcasting to reduce travel and therefore emissions. Individuals,

Comment on Zero Carbon Cities by Cathy King

Cathy King — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:11:50 +0000

Carbon offsetting encourages people to think they can continue to over-consume without harming the planet. As we know, there is no such thing as a ‘get out of jail free’ card. For me, there’s also the issue of properly auditing the activities of carbon offsetting companies like this one. And offsetting does nothing to address the peak oil issue either.

Comment on Mold is Going Carbon Neutral by Alice

Alice — Fri, 30 May 2008 15:42:36 +0000

A similar study was carried out in Talybont-on-Usk (also hoping to become the first carbon neutral community in Wales!) earlier this year. To hear more about it listen to a recent edition of Costing the Earth at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/costingtheearth_20080522.shtml – the Talybont bit is about 20minutes in.

If you would like to know more please visit http://www.talybontenergy.co.uk and get in touch via the “contact us” page.