Brighton and Hove
Digital City by the Sea
The Brighton and Hove Digital Partnership is
developing a programme to create a Digital City which will ensure that residents,
businesses and visitors benefit from new media technology. This is the vision
under development.
The new Brighton and Hove authority
Brighton and Hove, on the
south coast of Great Britain, will become one local authority in April 1997.
It has two universities, a thriving multimedia industry, important local
employers such as American Express and is committed to the exploitation
of the digital revolution for the benefit of its people and industry. The
city is looking for partners across Europe to work with on developing new
applications for the use of broadband technologies in education, for industry,
in public access points (particularly libraries), through local authorities
and in co-operation with universities and multimedia companies.
Broadband network and media development
The new city by the sea has already made progress in the implementation
of a broadband network and has recently won £2.0 million for the connection
of schools, libraries and multimedia companies. Local companies such as
EMG and Wayland Publishing produce multimedia products for the world market.
They are supported by a host of smaller firms who are brought together under
the Media Development Association
(MDA) The MDA is looking to establish links with similar groups in other
European countries.
The Media Centre is a highly successful venture in the centre of Brighton
providing a home for a wide range of media companies together public access
to the Internet at Cybar and a public
venue.
MediaLan 2000 is a high speed metropolitan
network which is being built to distribute online multimedia applications
to businesses and homes in Brighton and Hove.
Pavilion Internet as the South of
England's first and largest Internet Service Provider (ISP) provides connections
over modem for simple dial up, through ISDN and Network ISDN, to full leased
line access over fibre. A competitvely priced service is provided, for individuals,
business, and local government, while Pavilion sponsors a largely free service,
for community groups and schools throughout the region of Sussex, Surrey,
Hampshire and Kent.
Virtual Brighton and Hove is Brighton
and Hove's essential web site for locals, tourists, businesses
and ex-pats.
IT for All
As well as creating a high speed network and attractive content, the Digital
Partnership is promoting a local IT for All campaign
to raise public awareness of the benefits of information and communication
technologies.
The local campaign is a contribution to the Government's national
IT for All campaign., and is being developed in conjunction with UK
Communities Online.
The idea of a local campaign and partnership was first developed through
events organised by Sussex Community
Internet Project and UK Communities
Online. SCIP aims to open
up use of the new information highway to the public at large, focusing particularly
on disadvantaged communities. A programme of training for voluntary organisations
is underway and plans for providing community access points are being developed.
UK Communities Online runs Communities
Online Forum for anyone interested in the use of new media technology
for community benefit, and is developing material for the national IT for
All campaign. Communities Online editor David Wilcox is a Brighton resident.
The BT Labs team researching community networks - Colin Millar and Doug
Williams - presented their
work at the SCIP seminar and are interested in supporting a viable partnership
with Brighton and Hove.
Local IT initiatives
Other projects which can make a contribution to Digital City by the Sea
include the following:
The Know How project, which brings together manufacturing and service
sector companies in Brighton and Hove who have resources and expertise they
are willing to share locally. A paper based directory has been produced
but in 1997 it is planned to transfer this to a local intranet.
Schools. The connection of every school with a high speed link will
be put in place in 1997. Brighton and Hove schools want to use the new technology
to develop links with schools across Europe.
Brighton and Hove's Economic
and Community Development programme and Community
Development Team
ISI Local Support Centre
How a Development Trust could create the
Digital City
In order to develop the Digital City we will need a radical vision and the
machinery to implement it. Here David Greenop proposes how
that might be done.
A discussion forum for digital citizens.
In order to ensure wide community participation in the development of the
Digital City, UK Citizens Online
Democracy have agreed to collaborate in running discussion
forums for local people, and to facilitate exchange of experience with
European partners. UKCOD recently hosted an online discussion between Members
of the European Parliament and others about whether Britain should join
the European Monetary Union, and is currently promoting debate on the UK
Government's Green Paper 'Government Direct: A Prospectus for the Electronic
Delivery of Government Services'.
Brighton and Hove Community Development Team
Brighton and Hove Community Development Team are part of the new Brighton
and Hove Social Services Department. In fact there are two CD Teams within
SSD, one of which deals with adult service issues (such as older people,
people who have disabilities etc) and one which specialises in children
and family support issues.
Our main areas of work include encouraging and support neighbourhood community
development work in areas of greatest need. We work according to the 'classic
model' of neighbourhood work which is about helping local people decide
what the main issues and problems are in their areas and finding solutions
to those problems.
We are strongly committed to the ideas and practice of community empowerment,
local democracy and accountability.
In practice we are deeply involved in issues around play and childcare,
neighbourhood regeneration, developing community facilities and voluntary
sector support.
We have a developing interest in the use of information based technologies
(particularly the Internet) as a potential, empowering tool which can be
used by marginalised and economically and socially excluded communities.
Members of the Team are also involved regionally and nationally in Community
Development issues.
Prepared by David Wilcox January 8 1997. david@communities.org.uk