Young Rewired State 2009

What is Young Rewired State?

Young Rewired State (YRS) is a initiative that aims to support young developers and coders in using public data to build apps, websites and anything else that people may use. It is about mashing up and getting out there with data people may not have seen or experienced before.

Who can take part?

Anyone aged between 15-18.

When is it?

YRS will take place *next week* between Monday 2nd August and Friday 6th August 2010

Where is it taking place?

YRS is taking place at centres across the country - there are centres in Brighton, London, Norwich, Oxford, Birmingham and Manchester.
In Manchester we will be based at the MadLab - a space well-known for digital collaboration in the city centre.

What will happen?

We will meet on the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at the MadLab and work together on ideas and developments. On Friday 6th August we will take the train down to London to meet the other teams, show & tell our work and perhaps win a prize!

Last Wednesday was March the 24th.

In 1603 on the 24th of March, everyone would have been talking about James VI of Scotland also becoming James I of England.

However 403 years on, we celebrate the 24th of March, not because of the achievements of a male monarch, but the achievements of thousands of women in fields relating to technology and science.

March the 24th is Ada Lovelace day.

This year, my Ada Lovelace day doesn't even actually work in the field of technology or science, however her contributions to technology are massive.

I'm talking about Amelia Andersdotter.

Just a few years ago, Amelia was studying Economics and Spanish at Lund University in Sweden.

In 2009, aged just 21 and still a student, Amelia stood in the European Parliament elections.

On a platform for

"a thorough revision and change of the copyright legislation, a complete removal of the patent system and a more balanced approach to security, safety and the market versus privacy, where the latter in particular needs to be taken much more into consideration. I believe in strong civil rights, even in a digital environment."

Last year, Amelia was elected to the European parliament as an MEP, not through luck or chance, but years of campaigning and hard work.

Last Wednesday, Ada Lovelace day itself, I was fortunate enough to meet Amelia at the Counter 2010 conference - ironically perhaps, a conference about Anit-Counterfeiting and Piracy.

What I admire about Amelia is not just that she is very knowledgeable on law that relate to digital rights, or that she is extremly good at articulating her points.

What I admire is that she managed to transform the dream of having a digital rights political movement in power into a living reality.

In a discussion on the Geekup mailing list about a particularly stupid bit of Government legislation, I came across this:

Robert Burrell Donkin wrote:

It would have been wiser to invest in a couple of islands and some yachts....

Caius Durling wrote:

Any room on there for another (possible) expat? :)

Simon Ward wrote:

If we manage to find some islands, it seems we’ll already have thriving geek community. :D

I tried to imagine how a desert island occupied by hardcore geeks would work..

"Ah I'd love to rescue you from that quicksand, but can you just wait whilst I download the iphone app to do that"

"Guys, Guys, guess what!"
- "what?"
"I've already sold an e-commerce site to a Monkey I met in the jungle!!"
- "You fool you should have killed it for food?"
"I couldn't eat a client!"
"..."

I missed Barcamp Bradford today which to be honest, is the first time I've missed a local barcamp in a long time. I was however, exhausted and slightly ill, and it just really didn't seem like an appealing idea. I feel a a bit sorry for the organisers, it's very frustrating when people don't turn up to events you organise and put on, so I hope it went well.

Andrew Disley, Ian Forrester and I organised Barcamp Manchester 2 weekend which went really, really well. I think we had ~250 people there at one point on Saturday Afternoon. I may get round to blogging about it in detail,for the time being I'd just like to thank everyone who turned up, our amazing sponsors, fantastic venue and Ian and Andrew for their effort and dedication to help organise the even with me.

It occurred to me shortly before Barcamp Manchester 2 that I've been to quite a lot of Barcamps, so I thought I'd have a go at listing them (not necessarily in chronological order).

• Barcamp Manchester 1
• Barcamp Liverpool (1)
• Barcamp Sheffield (1)
• Barcamp Bournemouth (1)
• Barcamp North East ?
• Unsheffield 1 (Barcamp Sheffield 2)
• Barcamp Leeds 2(?)
• Barcamp Brighton 4
• Barcamp Blackpool (1)
• Barcamp Manchester 2
• Barcamp Bathcamp (2)

Click to Play

!

Please pass this on to anyone you think might be interested.

DFEY-NW (Digital Freedom in Education & Youth - North West) is a group focusing on young people and issues of freedom in the digital world, based in the Northwest of England at the moment.

When
  Saturday April 25th 2009 12:30pm -> ~4:00pm

Where
  BBC Manchester, New Broadcasting House, Oxford Road, Manchester, M60 1SJ
  Photo: http://tiny.pl/z7bf
  Map: http://tiny.pl/z7b1
  Nearest train station: Manchester Oxford Road (3 mins walking distance)

Attending?
  Due to BBC restrictions, you need to tell us: http://dfeynw4.eventbrite.com/
  or feel free to email us on team at nw.dfey.org to let us know you are coming...

Ubuntu 9.04 'Jaunty' Release Party
  The day before the meeting is the Ubuntu release party in Manchester.
  It looks like it's going to be a load of fun. Maybe see you there?
  Details: http://is.gd/sKLf

In case you need it, here's some contact information:
  Tim's mobile: 07922334403
  Email: team at nw.dfey.org

Tim Dobson is a council member of Manchester Digital - Manchester's independent trade association representing the digital sector.

About me:

I started school at Padfield County Primary before attending Manchester Grammar School for my secondary education and GCSE's. I then went on to do my A levels in Applied ICT, Geology and French at the Marple Campus of the Cheadle and Marple Sixth Form College.

My professional life is rooted in Information Technology, I am currently employed as both a Systems Engineer for a small Internet Telephony consultants in Manchester, as well as being a contracted part-time systems administrator for a large corporation with responsibility for their Xen Web Cluster.

One of my passions is sailing, I succeeded in becoming a full RYA Dinghy Instructor at the age of 16, I then went on to organise the Glossop entries to the Southport 24 Hour Race for Glossop Sailing Club, which led to me being awarded the the High Peak Young Sports Leader award.

My interest in computing and digital rights grew after my introduction to free software whilst still at school. From there my ambitions for and involvement with the Manchester and later the UK technology scene grew to the point that I now travel widely to attend meetings and have given a variety of talks on many issues including "Engaging Young People in Technology" at BECTA's Open Source schools 'unconference'.