High Peak CVS AGM

Summary
What happened?
What difference has ICT made?
What was learnt?
Find out more

Summary

To celebrate their 5th anniversary High Peaks CVS wanted to make their AGM memorable. With the help of the East Midlands regional ICT champion they developed the idea of a Virtual AGM. Web2.0 technology was used to encourage those who could not attend the AGM to feel part of the occasion.

As well as a tool for enabling a larger audience to interact with the AGM the added benefit of this project was to act as a method for promoting the way technology can be used by voluntary and community groups.

Web 2.0 is a perceived or proposed second generation of web-based services such as blogs, wiki’s, and social networking sites, etc.

What happened?

A separate website was set up (www.highpeakcvsis5.org.uk). To get visitors to the site all presentations from the AGM were placed on the site, along with links to the short-film that was shown at the AGM.

During the AGM it was intended that there would be a live blog of events as they happened, this would not only mean that visitors to the site could be kept informed of events but also allowing the AGM through innovative use of technology to be more inclusive and enhance the services that High Peaks CVS are able to offer to members.

Internet connections during the event meant that there were some problems in getting information online as things happened. This resulted in a delay of two hours before the information from the event was placed on the website.

What difference has ICT made?

Blogging the event meant that visitors to the site could be kept informed of events but also allowing the AGM through innovative use of technology to be more inclusive and enhance the services that High Peaks CVS are able to offer to members.

The website provides a really tangible example for voluntary and community groups about how web2.0 technology can be used in a practical sense. The site makes use of blogging, images, online videos. The addition of material after the event also gives the visitor a real feel for the event and offers the ability to comment on any of the materials on the website.

What was learnt?

It is important to make sure if planning to use live blogging that the venue has reliable internet access. In the case of High Peaks CVS internet problems meant live blogging was not possible. The work done before the event to get information online and adding of more information soon after the event meant that information and resources were still available to those people that were not able to attend the AGM.