Archive for February, 2012

As we build up to next months Inventorium ‘Digital Culture‘ event I read a report on the BBC news over the weekend and thought is gave some surprising statics when it comes to children and culture.

The report is based on a study which claims that millions of British children are “culture starved” as they have never been to an art gallery, theatre or museum.

When they looked into the reasons a quarter of parents said they could not afford to visit attractions with 28% saying they did not have the time and 18% believed their child was “too young for culture”.

When asked what cultural activities their children had participated in, the most popular was learning an instrument (39%), with ballet (24%), painting (23%) and singing in a choir (22%) the next most popular activities.

Emma Gray, from Marketing Birmingham, which runs the Visit Birmingham campaign, said it was important for all generations to embrace cultural activity.

“Culture can take many kinds of forms and it’s essential our children are encouraged to get involved with this at any early age,” she said.

“A few trips during the year to museums, landmarks or even cultural festivals will prove to be memorable, informative and fun occasions for youngsters.”

During the workshop on the 27th March we hope to bring a diverse group of people together to discuss problems such as this in the culture sector and then develop solutions to these problems leading to new services and even new businesses. Find out more here.

Read the full article here.

Wikipedia states that the Blaa is a white doughy bread roll speciality that is particular to Waterford and Kilkenny.  This came as a surprise to us at Inventorium as we were led to believe that the Blaa was originally created in Waterford city back in the 17th century.  Was there some form of inter-county high-espionage at play here ? 

Four centuries later, our curiosity has gotten the better of us.   We’ve decided to give both counties the chance to pit their creative juices against each other.   The Inventorium Open Mic Idea Jam roadshow visits the capitals of both counties to determine which has the best new business ideas of the 21st century.  

We kick off in Langtons in Kilkenny on Tuesday Feb 28th at 7pm and quickly follow it with Tuesday 6th March at 7pm in the KazBar in Waterford City.

We’ve had a huge response from both cities with people not just registering, but also getting their pitch slot confirmed for the night.    You can expect to hear loads of different ideas including an iPad game designed to teach 7 year olds orthographic 3D, the perpetual motion machine that plugs into your attic cold water tank and an topical online service to help people struggling with eating disorders.

 Our events in Dublin we’re oversubscribed and people found it difficult gain access to the event because they failed to pre-register online for their chosen event. So, take a look at our video clips of earlier Idea Jams, grab a few friends and register to attend your counties event.  Remember, you don’t have to pitch an idea to come along, but just like any Open Mic night, you’re welcome to provide feedback .. good and bad ….

Dragon Run 1027 is a 1027 mile, circumnavigation of Wales by Arry and Guy over 45 days.

The route will consist of 2 National Trails, primarily the Wales Coast Path that is due to officially open on 5th May and The Offa’s Dyke path, which runs the length of the Wales/England border. This presents many challenges not just with stamina and endurance but coping with various terrains, wind and weather conditions. It is by no means a flat easy run and is along varying elevations of coastal paths, tracks and minor roads.

This admirable pair will commence Dragon Run 1027 outside the Senedd Building in Cardiff on Friday 6th April and will tackle the run in a clockwise direction. Fundraising collections will be held at most of the stopping points along the route and any support is appreciated. To find out how you can help click here.

In the build up to next weeks workshop in Coleg Harlech it was interesting to read about some novative approaches being taken with the youth of America; Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel is conducting a high-profile experiment: Put $100,000 apiece in the hands of 24 entrepreneurial teenagers and give them free rein to pursue innovative ideas.

The condition? They have to leave their studies and classmates, and vow to stay out of college during the two-year fellowship.

Thiel’s endorsement has been followed by some quick successes; Eden Full, 19, won a $260,000 social entrepreneurship award for her efforts to improve solar energy in developing countries. Dale Stephens, 20, landed a Penguin deal for his book Hacking Your Education.

With startup success stories tempting undergraduates to quit, universities have raced to add entrepreneurship to their curricula. Stanford has StartX, an accelerator for student-run startups. Similarly, last year UC Berkeley created FounderSchool, which prepares students to raise venture money. James G. Boyle, managing director of the Entrepreneurial Institute at Yale University (which lost four undergraduate students to Thiel fellowships) agrees that more colleges should help kids start companies, but he says that most students benefit from an environment where they can test ideas without betting their future.

Read the full article here

In contrast there are examples that the potential to innovate improves with age, Vivek Wadhwa of the Technology Review writes; the young understand the limits of the Web world, but they don’t know their own limits. It’s proving to be a powerful combination. Since they don’t know what isn’t possible, the Zuckerbergs can come up with new solutions to old problems. That is why they lead the charge in starting innovative mobile and Web companies.

But great ideas by themselves don’t lead to breakthrough technologies or successful companies. Ideas are dime a dozen. The value comes from translating ideas into inventions and inventions into successful ventures. To do this, you have to collaborate with others, obtain financing, understand markets, price products, develop distribution channels, and deal with rejection and failure. In other words, you need business and management skills and maturity. These come with education, experience, and age.

Read the full article here

Having worked with both the youth and the more senior amongst us – surely the way forward is to combine the experience of one with the unlimited potential of the other. In Wales we have mentoring schemes but maybe we need to look at taking this a step further?