Eups20savvychavvy160309

Savvy Chavvy’s story

eups20, Brussels, 16th March 2009

Nathalie McDermott

Citizen journalism…

…is made up of conversations…

…between real people who are connected in some way

…between real people who are connected in a meaningful way.

RADIO WANNO 999AMIN WANDSWORTH PRISON

Savvy Chavvy

Savvy Chavvy

• A social network for young Gypsies and Travellers in the UK

• 2,800 members

• Won the first Catalyst Communities award in July 2008

• ‘Chavvy’ is a Romany word for ‘child’

Rosina Hughes is 17 from Wareham, Dorset. She says:

• "It's great to have a site where you feel comfortable and safe discussing these things”

• "They have Gypsy hate groups, so it's important that we have our own space."

• “You're all dirty” and “you're all scum”, are some of the racist responses she says she has received on other social networking sites.

This doesn’t mean we replace offline activity

Savvy Chavvy

• Young Travellers use the network as a safe place to have discussions, find family members, make friends and arrange events and meet-ups

• Make sure the existing leaders in the community understand and embrace what is planned - but do not expect them necessarily to be the leaders online.

• Be prepared for the community to reshape the objectives. It will thrive if it meets real needs, and ambassadors will emerge.

• Investment in people - their training and support - is more important than investment in technology.

• Keep it simple, and make sure that when people go home after training they can do everything for themselves without further training.

• Keep the ongoing costs of the technology low, and if possible free.

• Sustainability is achieved through low costs and ownership of the project by the community.

• Be prepared to use commercial platforms to achieve this, rather than bespoke sites that require continuing technical support.

• Do not assume that marginalised communities will necessarily want to build communication bridges to the mainstream. They may be more concerned about creating a safe space for themselves.

Contact nathalie@onroadmedia.org.uk

Twitter @natmcwww.onroadmedia.org.uk