electricdecember.org 2004

The o­nline advent calendar electricdecember.org 2004 launched in December with a unique live linkup between Cornwall and Plymouth students at the CPR Learning Space in Camborne, and Bristol students at the Watershed Media Centre.

Part of a Creative Partnerships and Watershed collaboration partnering young people with creative and multimedia practitioners, artists, writers, performers and musicians to bring ideas and creative processes to digital fruition, 2004 ’s calendar was the second annual project to be jointly developed between the two agencies, and the sixth since its conception by the Watershed.

Watershed ’s Director Dick Penny said: “It thrills me that every year the ideas and the sheer brilliance of the young people ’s creativity just gets more and more exciting. The fantastic gifts created for this year ’s electricdecember really allow their ideas to shine through.”

Based o­n the theme of ‘transformation , the development of the 2004 gifts centred round the project’s core principles of collaboration, innovation and the creative process - principles that mirror those of Creative Partnerships itself, hence its close involvement and interest. The gifts certainly reflect the combined talent and imaginations of each school / practitioner partnership. At the launch the Cornwall and Plymouth students spoke to the Bristol students, and showed off their gifts using special technology that combines broadband video-conferencing with synchronous internet sites. Staff at the CPR Learning Space said they were “Thrilled that the link had worked so well the first time it had ever been attempted. ”The south west ’s Internet Video communications assisted with setting up the link as another development in the partnership approach.

This project is an exciting o­ne for the young people, as their ideas - exhibited each day throughout December and afterwards remaining o­nline as a permanent resource - have reached visitors from 88 countries worldwide. Anyone can view the site at www.electricdecember.org and talks are already under way about next year ’s electricdecember. The project is also an interesting example of the o­ngoing development processes taking place between the regional Creative Partnerships offices and Arts Council England, South West ’s RFOs (or Regularly Funded Organisations), of which Watershed is o­ne.

Find out more about electricdecember.org o­nline at www.electricdecember.org/ or you can contact Creative Partnerships Cornwall & Plymouth co-ordinator Tamsin Harvey at tharvey@cornwall.gov.uk.