Community Reporter Alexis McClean and I were invited to film the launch of CityCampMCR last night (14th June 2011) at NoHO Bar in the Northern Quarter.
CityCampMCR is an initiative which promises to bring together the enthusiasm and ideas of community groups and individuals in Manchester to address issues around Food, Transport, Recycling, Open Data, New Technologies, Community Development and Regeneration. There were speeches from Ed Mayo of Co-Operatives UK and Ocia Koranteng about how people can triumph by working together to address real needs in their community. Ed quoted the example of The Star Inn in Broughton and how residents and punters got together and formed a co-op to save the last remaining pub in that area was when it was under threat of closure. The prevailing mood was that in the light of current government cuts to vital services there couldn't be a better time for communities to take the power back and find sustainable strategies and take a hand in shaping the future for everyone's benefit. The launch made use of 'crowd resourcing' by inviting to delegates to share their ideas about how we can shape a better future. These ideas will be built into the two-day, free event which will be held in September, 2011. CityCamp Manchester aims to share ideas, explore challenges, join-up resources and develop solutions which build a more sustainable future for Greater Manchester.
CityCampMCR is also making use of Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to collect ideas so if you couldn't make the launch but have some great ideas to share you can use those sites to do so.
Look out for our film to find out what people had to say at the launch.
If you want to find out more about CityCampMCR and how you might get involved take a look at their blog http://citycampmcr.org/