Bugs

Bugs is a research taskforce programme aiming to provide an in-depth examination of the value and impact of socially engaged digital arts practice on the digitally excluded.

Building on our action research Digital Participation Programme, the taskforce has been established to contribute to the national digital inclusion agenda. Throughout 2011 it will work hard to ensure that the power of the arts to motivate people to get online, and provide deeper, more varied and enriching digital participation opportunities is understood and celebrated. The taskforce will include evaluation, education, social science and digital participation experts of national significance. The taskforce will turn outstanding artists and their projects into national exemplars, publishing its findings to showcase effective results and real world practical solutions, and demonstrating the value of the arts in a Digital Britain. At the core of this initiative is our belief in the importance of digital literacy, something that is about far more than functional ICT skills - it's about understanding how we relate to each other, contribute to society, make and share meaning, in a current and future digital context.

To get this started we have launched a new website – http://bugs.folly.co.uk. This website collates evidence of folly’s recent artistic work in the field of digital inclusion and digital literacy, along with summaries and links to relevant external reports and research. This content will act as a starting point for discussion and analysis by the taskforce and the wider public about the role the arts could or should play in developing digital literacy.

Open discussions will be cultivated on the site and via social media engagement (Twitter, Facebook), from which key questions and priorities will be identified and adopted. We invite you to check out the site and contribute your own insights now, and encourage you to keep in touch through social networks for up to date information about the taskforce's process.