We have written a blog for our long-term collaborators In Situ on climate change, inequality and climate emotions as part of Climate Lab Pendle. In our writing we explore factors that inform people’s views and feelings about the crisis, mis and dis-information, numbness, neutrality and understanding the barriers we encounter in climate engagement work. 

Visualisation by Christopher Gerhardt at the Inside Out Pendle Talkaoke, 18th Nov 2024

(more…)

Was a project in collaboration with Manu Luksch & Mukul Patel (Ambient Information Systems) as part of the Public Voices in AI research program that ‘aims to ensure that public voices are front and centre in artificial intelligence research, development and policy’. We set out to understand and help articulate beliefs and concerns about AI held by two groups in Tower Hamlets: clients of Streets of Growth, a charity supporting vulnerable teenagers at risk of diverse harms, and older adult clients of mental health charity MIND.

What makes AI problematic as a technology is its opacity. The spread of surveillance cameras in the UK was visible to all, especially those that might have felt targeted. But how do you know you’ve been sorted by a system that exists across distant data centres, ‘somewhere in the cloud’? How can you understand its outputs when even its designers might not be able to fully explain them? And how can you discuss all of this with a neighbour when they see entirely different newsfeeds? Of course, the impact is greatest on those who are already vulnerable.

– Mukul Patel

‘A day in the life’ exercise to identify all interactions 
with technology in a typical day

(more…)

Between 22 and 25 August 2024, The People Speak team – Mikey, Margot and our multilingual host Timna – joined the University of Bielefeld, Germany as part of the public relations project Ö for the CRC1646 Linguistic Creativity in Communication. Over the next 4 years the CRC aims to investigate creativity of the German language. To combine research and public relations the project is using Talkaoke – our interactive talk show format. This year we had the opportunity to run Talkaoke in 4 different contexts: from a facilitation workshop with the Linguistic PhD students to public events in an adult education centre, a festival and at a democracy event at one of the contested public spaces in Bielefeld.

(more…)

Since the beginning of year, we have been making our way into the heart of communities across Thurrock to engage local citizens in shaping the direction of cultural activities in the area. From January to May 2024, we popped up in Thurrock to host several Talkaoke sessions and get familiar with local attitudes, aspirations and anxieties. Together we explored what a shared process of cultural decision-making can look like and presented locals with the results of our collective creative brainstorming.

“It’s absolutely central to our work that Start Thurrock’s creative and cultural offer is shaped by residents. Working with The People Speak really helped us reach into communities and genuinely listen to what is important to local people and what creative projects they want for their area. Talkaoke is a really effective and inclusive way for creative ideas to be shared and expressed, giving Start Thurrock rich insights and understanding to act on” – Roxie Curry, Start Thurrock who commissioned the project.

We kicked off our series of Talkaoke sessions at the Chadwell St Mary’s Village Hall. The event saw attendees from neighbouring towns including Chadwell St Mary, Grays, and Stanford-le-Hope. We heard from citizens, young and old and as with all our Talkaoke sessions, the topics were chosen by the participants and ranged from local history to what a future sculptural monument in Thurrock might look like. There to capture the essence of our conversations was our talented visualiser Christopher Gerhardt.

(more…)