Andy Burnham, Steven Gerrard and the spiral galaxies
Earlier this week I did a Fabian Society event with Culture Secretary Andy Burnham (before I get my usual ‘Blairite stooge’ comments, I am also due soon to speak to the Bow Group). Discussing how to generate mass participation in the arts, I made a point I find myself making often when talking to Government folk.
The state is forever trying to get people to do things; lose weight, stop smoking, get trained, get fit, recycle, pay tax on time etc. So we the citizens are overwhelmed with messages with the net effect that we feel put upon and somehow diminished. But instead of starting from what we are not doing, why isn’t Government better at latching on to our enthusiasms?
The daft example I gave Andy concerned one of my favourite YouTube clips in which a previously unknown Scouser stands in his corner shop doing terrific impersonations of Steven Gerrard and various other Liverpool FC celebrities. Almost 1.4 million people have now watched and loved this clip. How about, I suggested, an Arts Council link, next to the clip, to a site where people can find out how they might learn to be an impressionist, and from that connect to the bigger idea of acting and performing?
The scale of voluntary mobilisation possible if you start with people’s enthusiasms is underlined in a today’s Technology Guardian. Dr Chris Lintott, a researcher in the Department of Physics at Oxford University, has enlisted the efforts of thousands of amateur astronomers to help classify galaxies as ’spiral’, ‘elliptical’ or ‘merging’. This is only the latest example of mass on-line amateur scientific collaboration.
Start from what people like and what makes them feel good about themselves and we can tap into a deep well of goodwill and ambition. Tell people off and ask them to change and you’re shouting into the wind.
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Comments
6 Comments on Andy Burnham, Steven Gerrard and the spiral galaxies
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Indy on
Thu, 15th Jan 2009 5:13 pm
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matthewtaylor on
Fri, 16th Jan 2009 8:19 am
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Indy on
Fri, 16th Jan 2009 11:47 am
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Andy Burnham, Steven Gerrard and the spiral galaxies | Matthew … | End Smoking using Hypnosis on
Fri, 16th Jan 2009 9:33 pm
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matthewtaylor on
Sun, 18th Jan 2009 2:53 pm
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Latching on to the crowd’s enthusiasms | Crowd Surfing on
Wed, 11th Nov 2009 8:44 am
Well said.
Certain Nordic countries appear to have much more successful health policies regarding obesity than the UK. One of the distinguishing features is that they put a lot of emphasis on consulting with communities about the sports/exercise/park space facilities that they put money into. All too often facilities here seem to be come under the auspices of a “task force” who focus on “youth” or “the elderly” but rarely the community as a whole. And then they wonder why only a small slice of people use it…
Thanks Indy
I applaud effective consultation and the amazing progess in public health in the Nordic countries. But a couple of points. First the process of consultation doesn’t fit my suggestion that we start from people’s own enthusiasms. Many people don’t feel that beng consulted is something they are very good at. The important thing is that consultation is real and rewarding. The Youth Opportunity Fund http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/youthmatters/youthfund/ is, I think, a very good example of a process in whch control over how to spend money to encourage participation is actaully handed over to young people.
Matthew
I think you highlight the deeply perverse nature of what “consultation” has come to mean in Britain – effectively “we’ll let you have your say and then do what we want anyway.”
I would contend that a real consultation process very much starts from people’s own enthusiasms and that they should be the ones in charge of spending the money. I’m very open to learning a new word, if you have one though.
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Thanks for the link
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