Digital technologies touch every aspect of life and business – but relatively few people create them; most people just use them. We want to mobilise a generation of young people with the drive, confidence and know-how to make new technology – whether websites, apps, hardware, games or brand new innovations.
We believe this won't just benefit young people themselves, but society and the economy too. For more on this, see our Next Gen. report.
What are we doing?
Our Digital Makers project comprises three key elements:
- The campaign
Make Things Do Stuff is a campaign and website aimed at mobilising the next generation of digital makers, giving young people the tools and support to make and share digital things. It's been created by a group of like-minded organisations that want to inspire young people to be creators, not just consumers of digital technologies.
We think that by working together we can make more noise and a bigger impact on the lives of young people – so that every young person sees technology as a way to make new things and solve real problems.
- The consortium
The consortium behind Make Things Do Stuff is built on the following values – and if you share our values we'd love to work with you:
- Digital technology is a tool to change the world, knowing how to harness it is a fundamental literacy for the 21st century.
- We learn through making and sharing.
- We work better together (This is an open movement. Collaboration and sharing are key to its success.)
Watch this space for updates on the progress of Make Things Do Stuff.
- The fund
Nesta, Nominet Trust and Mozilla are backing seven organisations with bright ideas for significantly increasing the number of young people who participate in digital making. These seven ventures will receive a share of £260,000 – up to £50,000 each – and non-financial support to scale their projects and reach more young people.
They are:
• Code Club
• Glasgow Science Centre (CoderDojo)
• Our Lady's Catholic High School
• Printcraft
• Technocamps
• Technology Will Save Us
• Imagication
Back in November 2012, we launched the Digital Makers Fund to support initiatives that invited mass participation, used young people's interests to drive demand and were noisy champions of digital making.
Find out more about the Digital Makers Fund.
In addition our work in Scotland involves support from the Scottish Government. Computing teacher Kate Farrellhas been seconded to our team in Scotland to work on a range of digital making CPD support programmes for teachers at both primary and secondary school level. Between now and June 2014 you will see the following work take place in Scotland:
- One Day Digital events (industry master classes on digital making) for teachers
- Testing CPD support and new digital making lesson plans for teachers in a cluster of schools
- Digital Creativity support networks in geographic clusters