NESSiE New England Sustainability Strategy Executive

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Media Release
15.9.08

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Launch of Sustainable New England Wiki-Community

An innovative Wiki-Community has been launched to broaden the opportunities for community involvement in developing the New England Sustainability Strategy. The Wiki-Community www.ness.wikidot.com is using digital video, digital photographs, audio recordings and discussion blogs to provide information about the Strategy and the sustainability of the Region. The Wiki also enables input into the Strategy for community members unable to attend the Public Forum being held at NERAM on Monday 22 September 2008. The Public Forum will be uploaded onto the website live throughout the day forming a digital scrapbook, says Laszlo Szabo, who together with Lindsay Teychenne created DotNess, as the WikiCommunity has become known. Forum participants and others who could not be there on the day will be able to use the site as a central hub to continue work on the Strategy and build on the Forum over time building a community based network of ideas and action. Use of a Wiki-Community reflects the open, transparent and inclusive spirit for this important whole of community regional strategy. Intended as a self organising platform for further work on sustainability issues in New England, DotNess uses digital storytelling technologies that bring together internet based technologies like Wiki, YouTube, Flickr and Blogging. This tool enables the formation of a Community Action Network, continues Szabo, and a virtual network of people coming together via the Web to engage in consultation, discussion, knowledge sharing and community action. In the spirit of community no single group or individual owns this network. This is Open Source, self organising community building a Show & Tell network for all stakeholders working in our region on issues of sustainability. A team of local digital media professionals will record the Public Forum and upload content to DotNess each hour scrapbooking or documenting the work of the working groups engaged in brainstorming environmental, social, indigenous, economic, youth, cultural and global issues that affect our lives here in regional New England. Local non-profit think-action tank Evolveris were commissioned by NESSiE, the New England Sustainability Strategy Executive, to establish the Wiki-Community. The New England Sustainability Strategy is funded by the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change, Armidale Dumaresq Council and Armidale Family Support Services. NESSiE & Evolveris invite the community to log on, have their say and make a difference to the sustainability of the New England Region. To attend the Public Forum or find out more about the New England Sustainability Strategy, go to www.slex.com.au or contact Adam Blakester on 02 6775 2501, 0419 808 900 or adam@paradigmplay.net. Media Contact | NESSiE | Adam Blakester | 02 6775 2501 | 0419 808 900 Media Contact | Evolveris | Michael OLoughlin | 0423 585 449