Sparks Flying About

I attended the first Spark Festival of Ideas in Brighton last year, when it was more of an idea itself, collecting a ragbag of digital and media industry entrepreneurs, educators and academics to decide whether such an event - where discussion>planning>doing is the key - had any use or value in shaping a new approach to creative learning.

What is quite remarkable, is how many pie-in-the-sky ideas generated at the 2014 gathering became transformational, tangible projects. The clearest example of which is the Maker Space on Brighton's London Rd, which is now a key part of the city's STEM learning offer and has seen 600 children through its doors making robots, using 3D printers, hacking computers and designing new games.

So, I was delighted to be invited back this year - especially as I have now gone independent and would not be representing any particular school, college or creative enterprise. 

The thought, care and attention to detail given to this event was palpable - as was the seamless mixing of 'grown-up' ideas workshops in the centre of the main hall at Brighton's Clarendon Centre, whilst 30 or so 6-16 year olds hacked, soldered, built, deconstructed and coded their hearts out at workstations around the edge of the space. 

The event is convened by Maker Club and Long Run Works, with some funding this year from the Arts Council, Brighton Digital Festival and City & Guilds. Volunteers told people where they needed to go and a bank of professional facilitators had been brought in to add some objectivity to the working groups - ensuring that local politics or delegate agendas didn't sway the discussion outcomes too much. It worked well.

The event is still in its genesis period, but the evolution of its intent and reach is quite exciting. 

The 60 or so delegates were trying to solve the following problems:

1. How do we inspire a new generation of inventors?

2. How do employers and educators join the dots?

3. How do we teach making a difference before making a margin?

4. Should we be creating ‘gender neutral’ industry cultures rather than campaigning to get more women into certain industries?

5. How do we make peace between nature and technology?

Were all the right people in the room? Of course not. But as the festival grows, it will become of more interest to young people, mainstream (head)teachers and funders/influencers - all of whom were under-represented.

And if concrete solutions were not found to each of the questions, some bloody good ideas were - one of which (for a targeted series of events that fund some facilitated time between schools/colleges and STEM businesses) will now be given £5k in research & development funding. A pretty hefty irony of the day was that, for a day of innovation centred around digital thinking, there were a ludicrous number of post-it notes in play.

I, personally, made some new and very interesting connections - with the Director of the Starr Trust and the Brighton Digital Festival Chair among others - with whom I can already see ideas for collaboration.

My wish is, in all honesty, that we can move on from a lot of these questions within the next couple of years, because they have been the same ever since I have been in this game. But something is changing, and it is not just the public and voluntary sector project workers grinding their teeth in a bid to make a difference - with often limited resources and available expertise, but the small businesses are coming forward. Small businesses with flexibility, without reliance on government funding, approaching the problem from a different angle. No single sector has a hope of answering these questions on its own - let alone do anything about it - but the cumulative and collaborative 'do-ing' and 'trying' is actually starting to shift the outcome. It does feel like the opportunity to make tangible change has just been given a new dimension - I don't know if thats just down here, or if it is just because some particular sorts of people are in the right place at the right time, but it certainly feels like this is a time to seize change.

And if I ever wake up in the middle of the night wondering what the hell I've done, and whether my ambitions to work across creative, education, small enterprise and community projects is too broad and undefined - I need to remind myself about events like this. I actually think it is vital for me to work with as many people who want to make a difference as possible, to bridge the sectors, to suggest unusual partnerships. I felt great when I left the Spark Festival - because something important is happening, and I have a small part to play in it.

Me, pitching an idea with Darren Abrahams from The Starr Trust