The People’s History Museum and the Working Class Movement Library have joined forces to work on a collaborative project called Unlocking Ideas Worth Fighting For.

As part of this project, a 24 hour hackathon weekend is being held from 1pm on Saturday 7th June to 1pm on Saturday 8th June at Islington Mill.

In days gone by, activism was defined by people taking to the streets in order to demand change – armed with placards banners and posters, people would march to make a point and have their views heard. From the Chartists to the suffragettes to the peace movement, this was the way that the people stood up to petition for change.

Today, we live in a different world – an age where activism has gone digital. Unlocking Ideas Worth Fighting For is inviting programmers, campaigners, designers and anyone in between to get together at Islington Mill and, for 24 hours, have a chance to create the next generation of protest tools.

MyDavidCameron.com already started this process, so what’s next? Could campaign music make the world a better place? Could short notice protests be bigger and better? Could movements realise what material has the biggest impact?

If the idea of using digital technology to campaign for change inspires you, then pop down to Islington Mill this weekend where you will be able to join like-minded people and use the digitised collections of the People’s History Museum and the Working Class Movement Library to hack new ways of speaking truth to power.

You can go as a team or as an individual – everyone is welcome. At the beginning of the day you will have time to meet new people and share your skills, but you won’t be able to start working on your hacks until 1pm when the event begins. There will be a show(off!) and tell at the end of the event.

Dinner will provided on Saturday night, with breakfast on Sunday and snacks to keep you going too. Islington Mill is kindly putting on an honesty bar for the event. Get Me Connected will be supplying and enabling the wi-fi so that you can get connected on the device (or devices) of your choice at any time.

If you need to stay overnight, you can do. There will be crash space provided upstairs at the Mill – you just need to take your sleeping bag/pillow/ onesie etc. with you!

The event is free and aimed at adults, but please do register your intention to attend at either of the links below, so that the organisers can get an idea of numbers!

http://www.phm.org.uk/whatson/hacktivism-the-unlocking-ideas-hackathon/

http://www.wcml.org.uk/events/hactivism–the-unlocking-ideas-hackathon/

Keep up to date with the hackathon on twitter @unlockideas #unlockhack.

Hacktivism: The Unlocking Ideas Hackathon
Islington Mill, Salford
7th-8th June 2014
Free, Suitable for Adults

 

Image courtesy Working Class Movement Library.