Active citizens

THE PARTICIPATE project “explores convergence in pervasive, online and broadcast media to create new kinds of mass-participatory events in which a broad cross-section of the public contributes to, as well as accesses, contextual content - on the move, in public places, at school and at home.” It offers ideas that I believe should be adopted by the Active Citizen initiative in Ireland. It is a collaborative project that integrates devices with active human commentary.

In the UK, the Participate Consortium aims to “develop scalable solutions for managed events and campaigns which engage and motivate participants over sustained periods of time. We are developing tools for the public to author, share and discuss content using their own devices, and for professionals and experts to collate and edit contributions for publication over broadcast and interactive channels.”

At first glance, it looks like superstructure that would connect communities of like-minded players. Its themes go beyond the standard flash-in-the-pan blogging memes.

I like the current initiative based on the “environment” meme.

What’s next? “In a series of trials and events, coordinated by experts in education, broadcast and online services, the general public and a network of schools will be invited to capture and contribute information about their local environment. This can then be used to augment professionally created media, building a national picture of environmental situations across the UK.”

Nice one to watch, especially during the Active Citizen request for comment currently running in Ireland.

It starts at www.participateonline.co.uk (via Maryanne Campo).