New Media Awards 2007 Atos Origin

Access Space

http://access-space.org/

Nominated in Information and openness award category.

Access Space is the UK’s first free media lab: an open-access learning community where participants learn, create and communicate online. Participation empowers individuals and develops skills, community, creativity and resourcefulness. Access Space focuses on creative engagement, encouraging participants to move from being e-consumers to becoming digital producers.

Access Space is open for walk-in participation 5 days per week, and also runs programmes of workshops, skill-sharing activities and inspirational exhibitions and digital arts events.

Our model challenges the conventional focus on capital spend on ICT hardware and software, and suggests that participants can be mobilised to create an effective learning resource.

1 nomination from readers

  • Access Space is the UK's first FREE MEDIA LAB. It's a place where anyone can come and learn, create and communicate online. Access Space is designed to be as accessible as possible, welcoming beginners as well as experts - and it costs nothing to take part.

    Access Space isn't a just cybercafe, where you surf the net, but don't get involved. We'd like you to contribute by building your own creative web project, and help other users to learn as they help you. We don't see you as a customer, but as a participant - so it pays to be creative!

    One of the unique features of Access Space is our technology - which cost us absolutely nothing! All of our PCs are recycled, and we use Linux, the revolutionary free operating system, and a huge suite of free programs. We've used machinery that other people think is trash to build an advanced multiuser network, with networked directories, powerful multimedia applications, and a host of other advanced features.

    The skills that you'll learn by taking part are particularly valuable, because you can apply them at home or at work for almost nothing. Once you've learnt how to get creative with the technology at Access Space, you can acquire your own similar system for a two-figure budget, or absolutely nothing if you're a skilled recycler!

    Learn to create web pages, build an advanced website, rebuild trash PCs, make your own home network, an office network, a router, a web server... and take over the world with your e-idea... without having to pay with anything except your time and commitment! Remember, getting productive with information technology is never cost free: if you pay with money, you end up poorer; if you pay by taking the time to learn, you end up smarter.

    31 May 2007