Google’s Interactivism is back with all new partners and a new challenge for you. Google and FutureGov have joined forces with practical think tank, the RSA and some brilliant young people from the South London youth communications agency, Livity. For round two, Interactivism: Young People’s Hack Weekend is all about finding a NEET solution (pun intended) to come up with innovative ways of using the web to help young people get into the job they want, or onto the training or education that will help them get there in the future.
For those of you unfamiliar with the term, for us, a hack is an event where computer developers, designers and people with ideas come together to build real, working prototypes (or models) of their ideas in a short amount of time.
Our panel of judges have shortlisted ten ideas (click here to see which ten they are) that will be worked during our two-day Interactivism - Young People’s Hack Weekend on Friday 17th and Saturday 18th February 2012. The event will be held in Ravensbourne, a digital media and design university sector college, based next to the O2 Arena in Greenwich, London. There, people with ideas will team up with top-notch student developers, Googlers, young people, people who work with young people, designers and social innovators to turn those ideas into working prototypes.
If you want to attend the Hack Weekend, please book your ticket here on our Interactivism Eventbrite page here.
Our friends at the RSA have written a handy framework that brings together research with the experiences of young people to discover some of the gaps where help is needed most that is good Interactivism background reading. You can check it out and download their framework here.
Keep up to date on the latest Interactivism news, not to mention to find out about the tantalising prizes up for grabs, including Google Chromebooks for the winning team and the chance for one lucky student developer to visit one of Google's international offices by checking the Simpl blog and following us on Twitter @Simplco
All information collected for the Interactivism competition will be held by FutureGov, Google and RSA only. All ideas submitted for the competition remain the sole property of the idea originator unless otherwise stated by the idea originator. Idea originators must be prepared to work with Google should their idea be chosen to be given further support following the Interactivism event.
If you use an RSS reader, you can subscribe to a feed of all future ideas posted to Simpl.
1"One click" job applications Take the pain out of applying for jobs, free up time for volunteering and upskilling, and find employers the best recruits
15 to 25 Social divisions exist in the UK despite the internet. Social divisions almost *define* the UK. Hence the need for this challenge. My idea is to use online communities, the might of Google, the goodwill of the RSA Fellowship (and others), NFP agencies and more, to offer young people a group of committed lifelong mentors, probably beyond their regular social reach. And to see what happens.
3A "What's Going On?" Info Stream of Youth Activities/Job Opportunities w/ Custom RSS Subscriptions "Wouldn't it be great if young people could find out about jobs or skill-building, mentoring & learning opportunities, entrepreneurship, and, say, rock-and-roll-camp for girls - through a single RSS feed? And what if the feed was customizable - so that said young people (or parents/guardians/mentors) could subscribe to an organization (that hosts such activities), a venue (near home, for example), or a specific firm where said young people might really, really want to work?"
2Active Enterprise Links This idea links students with real world businesses to support their learning and eventually leads to valuable workplace connections.
0Bare Apps Bare Apps is a mobile phone and web system targeted at young persons in the 16-24 age groups and is designed to be inclusive and to engage a local community with its youth.
4Blastbeat in a Box - with Blastbeat Changemaker and MyPlace Blastbeat in a Box creates and gameifies the existing Blastbeat programme and develops an online tool kit, built around the Blastbeat programme. Blastbeat wraps the learning experience in music, dance or sport, that leverages young peoples interests and passions to engage NEETs back in the learning process and enhances their positive learning experience teaching business and life skills in a very compelling way.
Blastbeat in a Box helps to empower young people to be event creators and social entrepreneurs, programming and selling out live events and creating performance opportunities for other young people that are intense yet cool and FUN.
Blastbeat has a programme and an expertise that has proven very successful at engaging these young people, NEET's in particular will benefit young people NEET
4Cloud Gaming as Personal Tutor (C.G.P.T) Lack of interest and motivation or/and lack of knowledge of how to achieve desired goals, are some of the most important reasons for unemployment and illiteracy. A personal tutor and motivator is exactly what young people need in such situations; to help them fix things up and get back to the track. Young people require personal tutors who are ready wherever they are, whenever they need some help.
1Collabor8 (Working title) Collaor8 is an idea for website that allows quick and easy educational collaboration. A place to share ideas, problems, questions, answers and anything else to do with UK education (whether you're in or out of education).
1 "One click" job applications 
