Found this photograph in a file. The local government in Yunnan Province, China, changed the name of the town of Gyalthang to Shangri-la to encourage tourism. So that’s that debate put to rest! Any other mythical places reinvented as tourist destinations?
Archive for the 'updates' Category
The website for the Offscreen Student Expedition 2008 site won the Y Design Award for Best Community site. Congratulations to the team - Chris, Ciara, Colin and John - and it’s great to see their hard work pay off.
It also shows how important good design is in breaking down barriers between different cultures.
The Offscreen Student Expedition 2008 was a collaboration between Digital Explorer and the Offscreen Education Programme and was supported by HSBC, the British Council, the Said Foundation and Gulf Air.
It was very exciting to run a pilot School Grounds Project at Eastbury Comprehensive School. We used many of the same techniques that we have employed on overseas expeditions - digital media, blogging, geo-tools (Google Earth and Google Maps) - to investigate the School Grounds and then take action to make a difference to the school environment.
This pilot wouldn’t have been possible without the support of Google UK and especially Kate Hammond and Liz Ericson. Also many thanks go to the pupils and staff at Eastbury Comprehensive School, who were amazing, enthusiastic and talented. Special thanks to Tracy Knight and Ruth Owen for their help and support.
This amazing film was made by the wonderful Jonny Madderson of Just So Films. Thank you for all your hard work.
Continuing thanks to Mark Thackara at Olympus for the great pupil-proof TOUGH digital cameras, that we used for photography and video during the pilot.
As always thank you to Marjan who makes sure that everything just happens, somehow, though still not quite sure how.
I was interviewed by Brit Hammer a couple of weeks ago and have been meaning to link to it.
“You need chaos in your soul to give birth to a dancing star.” A great quote from Nietzsche in Jay Griffiths’ ‘Wild‘ that is part of a growing wilderness flavour at Digital Explorer. Bringing the joy of wilderness to a greater number of young people is as important now as it has ever been.
Jamie Buchanan-Dunlop was recently interviewed as part of the Wilderness Foundation’s Campfire questions, and Digital Explorer looks forward to future collaboration with the organisation.
The Wilderness Foundation was set up to protect wilderness areas wherever they are by:
- Educating people about the benefits of wilderness
- Providing opportunities for direct experience of wild places
- Campaigning for their preservation when threatened with development.
There is also a great article in this month’s Geographical Magazine (November 2007) examining the increasing ‘nature deficit’ in young people. Search out a copy if you can.
Digital Explorer is now incorporated as a Community Interest Company. We join the growing ranks of social enterprises in the UK, which famously include Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen restaurant and the Oxo Tower.
Each proposed Community Interest Company must demonstrate that its operations are in the public good and show how its assets and profits will be used to benefit the community.
It’s very important that Digital Explorer is a social enterprise and that we work with our partners and sponsors to ensure that all our work goes to helping young people learn more about the world around them, have their own voice heard and work together to create a better future.
Our main activities listed with the Community Interest Company Regulator are:
- Set up a global network of digital youth expeditions that will change the way that young people feel about their community
- Train pupils, teachers, NGOs and expeditions in digital communications
Any surplus that we generate will be used to subsidize our work with schools and charities.
The Digital Explorer - Offscreen Education collaboration for the Offscreen Student Expedition won the Best Blog in the 2007 Web Marketing Association’s WebAwards.
The judges commented that the site was a “Fabulous idea! I can see the possibilities this opportunity can open up to the communities all over the world.”
So many congratulations to the team involved: Ciara, Chris, John, Rick and Marjan!
I am off to the Atlas Mountains tomorrow to climb the highest mountain in North Africa. I am raising money for Offscreen to help create better understanding between young people in the Middle East and the UK.
The funds will help us to involve more countries in the Middle East in our work and roll out our workshops programme to more schools in the UK.
How can you help?
We are raising funds online (click here) and please forward this email far and wide.
The Offscreen Education Programme is expanding rapidly and we want to reach far more young people in the UK and Middle East, so that they can develop proper understanding away from the flurry of negative and stereo-typed news headlines.
Click here to see the work we did in Oman and the UAE.
The video still makes me a bit teary.
So many thank you’s and salaams!
Getting a bit close, originally uploaded by DigitalExplorer.
A penguin getting a bit close to a satellite modem.
Marjan is just back from Antarctica, helping the IAE5 expedition. The Inspire Antarctic Expedition 5 saw 60 participants help to inaugurate an Education Base on the Antarctic Peninsula under the leadeship of Robert Swan.
Recent Comments