LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, Jun 12 (MARKET WIRE) --
People are increasingly looking to the web to address community issues,
with over a quarter (28%) of those online in the UK having joined up as
members of community action or charity groups on social networking sites,
such as Facebook.
Whilst the younger age group is more likely to use these online
campaigning tactics (59% of 18-24 year olds, 42% for 25-34 year-olds),
the 55+ age group would also take online action, with 14% already members
of social networking groups and nearly a fifth (17%) saying they would
use the web to find others who share their views, compared with 23%
overall.
The YouGov survey was commissioned by the UK Catalyst Awards, which aim
to recognise individuals, organisations and community groups who are
using social technology for social good. The survey showed that when
faced with a community issue they feel strongly about:
- Nearly a third (29%) of 18-24 year-olds would start an online group or
campaign and 37% would go online to find others with their views
- Traditional forms of activism are more popular with older age groups:
71% of people aged 55+ would write to their local MP, but this is still a
tool popular amongst young people with 36% of 18 - 24 year-olds saying
they would do so
- 18-24 year olds are half as likely to write to their local paper as the
55+ age group (25% compared to 51%)
- Young people are using the widest variety of social action tools
suggesting they are adopting the same 'bite-size' media snacking approach
to campaigning as they do to news consumption and communicating with
friends
Dan McQuillan from Make Your Mark which is coordinating the awards, said:
"We've seen just how powerful social media can be in catalysing
collective action - from the rise of the Arctic Monkeys on MySpace, to
silent discos organised via Facebook. We're now also seeing social
technology being used to tackle community issues, and our awards are
looking for the very best undiscovered examples."
The UK Catalyst Awards are looking to discover the social activists
currently using this technology, and there are now just eight days left
to enter at: www.ukcatalystawards.com.
Applicants can enter or be nominated for something they have done
individually or as part of their work for a business, charity, community
group or other organisation. The entrants could have created their own
social technology or used existing channels innovatively.
The UK Catalyst Awards applications deadline is Friday 20 June 2008. Find
out more and enter at: www.ukcatalystawards.com.
Notes to editors:
1. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total
sample size was 1,990 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 5th - 9th
June 2008. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been
weighted and are representative of all GB adults.
2. The UK Catalyst Awards - Community Awards for Social Technology -
were set up by the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and call for inspiring
stories of ways in which communities are being improved by people using
social technology. They are sponsored by NESTA (National Endowment for
Science, Technology and Arts) and the Department for Business, Enterprise
and Regulatory Reform. They are supported by Make Your Mark, the campaign
to unleash the UK's enterprise potential; Unltd, who support social
entrepreneurs and Polecat, who help businesses and organisations measure
their social impact.
There are nine categories up for grabs:
- The Shock for Good Award: for something that shocked people into doing
something good
- The Revolutionary Award: for something that makes people in power more
aware of the need for change
- The Self-Help Award: For something that helps the creator to help
themselves
- The Chalk & Cheese Award: for something that brings two different
groups of people together
- The David and Goliath Award: for something little that made a
difference to a something big and powerful
- The Young Achiever Award: for someone under 25
- The Individual Hero Award: for an individual
- The Community Award: for a community association or group
- The Enterprise Award: for an innovative new technology solution
developed by a business
There will also be a public vote online to decide the People's Choice
Award.
3. Social technology means any internet, mobile or gaming software that
lets you connect and communicate with other people. Examples are text
messaging, social networking (e.g. Facebook, MySpace, Bebo), blogging,
and so on.
4. The Council on Social Action was first announced on July 24 2007 by
the Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The aim of the Council is to bring
together leaders from business and the public and third sectors to help
inspire, facilitate and celebrate social change in the UK, and to
generate ideas and initiatives to advance social action. One of the
Council's very first pieces of work was to support the creation of a new
set of awards to recognise and support the use of new technology to
social ends. For more information about the Council, please contact the
Cabinet Office Press Office on 020 7276 0311.
5. Make Your Mark is the national campaign to unleash the UK's enterprise
potential. It is a not-for-profit campaign that is backed by an
unprecedented coalition of businesses, charities, education bodies and
government.
It was founded by the four leading UK business membership organisations -
the British Chambers of Commerce, the CBI, the Federation of Small
Businesses and the Institute of Directors. Their Director Generals sit on
Make Your Mark's board. It is also supported by the Department for
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and is endorsed by the Prime
Minister, Gordon Brown.
National organisations working closely with the campaign include:
Arts Council England - Association of Colleges - Black Training and
Enterprise Group - Business in the Community - Department for Business,
Enterprise and Regulatory Reform - Department for Children, Schools and
Families - Enterprise Education Trust - Learning and Skills Council -
National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship - National Education
Business Partnership Network - National Federation of Enterprise Agencies
- Prowess - Quality Improvement Agency - Scottish Government - South-East
England Development Agency (representing Regional Development Agencies) -
Shell LiveWIRE - Social Enterprise Coalition - Specialist Schools and
Academies Trust - The Prince's Trust - UnLtd - Young Enterprise
www.makeyourmark.org.uk
5. Founded by Jim Lawn and Bronwyn Kunhardt, formerly Head of Innovation
and Director of Citizenship at Microsoft UK, Polecat is currently
developing, and securing high-profile partners to oversee the creation of
a Creative Commons index which measures the social impact of social media
(online social networks, blogs, wikis etc).
6. UnLtd supports social entrepreneurs - people with vision, drive,
commitment and passion who want to change the world for the better - by
providing a complete package of funding and support to help individuals
make their ideas a reality. UnLtdWorld, the online platform for the
Catalyst awards, is supported by UnLtd. It is a social networking site
that enables social entrepreneurs, socially-minded people and
socially-driven organisations to share, shape and use social insight to
generate greater positive impact in the real world.
Contacts:
Colman Getty
Amy MacLaren
020 7631 2666
Email: amy@colmangetty.co.uk
Colman Getty
Henry de Rougemont
020 7631 2666
Email: henry@colmangetty.co.uk
Copyright 2008, Market Wire, All rights reserved.
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