Wigley and Associates

The city of Northfield’s civic blogosphere got a boost in the summer of 2004 when a group of government leaders from the U.K. visited Northfield.  It encouraged more local citizens and leaders to try blogging, and it helped me get the first of several contracts to work with local councilors in the UK to learn blogging.

As I blogged here back in Feb., my latest project with the UK involved working with Gallomanor Communications Ltd on the creation of the CivicSurf project video/DVD. From the About page:

CivicSurf aims to inspire and inform civic leaders about the benefits of blogging. We’ve filmed 3 Norfolk County Councillors as they’ve learnt the basics of blogging and used their sites to initiate conversations in and around their communities. The eight minute film also includes the views from expert bloggers such as Tom Watson MP, Steve Webb MP and Cllr Mary Reid. It will be distributed on DVD to 1,000 public bodies including councils, emergency services and NHS Trusts along with copies of a 32pp booklet that informs readers of the basics of blogging.

I coached the three councilors over several months and wrote much of the documentation for the booklet.

A week ago, Shane McCracken of Gallomanor Communications Ltd, premiered the video at a conference in London. Here are two video clips that show Shane presenting it, with a little Q&A afterwards. The third videoclip is the trailer.

 
Presentation Part 1. Click play to watch. 5 min 39 sec.

Presentation Part 1, Q & A. Click play to watch. 6 min 42 sec.

The trailer for the DVD/video. Click play to watch. 1 minute.

I’m working on a project for the MN Sesquicentennial Commission related to its efforts to “… bear witness to the tragic side of Minnesota Statehood in 1858 and acknowledge the pain, loss and suffering of the Native American culture in Minnesota.”

Project activities are guided by the Sesquicentennial Advisory Committee for Native American Partnering (SACNAP) and I’ve set up a blog titled Native American Minnesota: A journey of learning and understanding (nativeamericanminn150.org).