From Deputy Head of LSFM Richard Vickers: Students and academics from the University of Lincoln will be taking part in the Web We Want Festival at the Southbank Centre, 29–31 May, as part of the School of Film & Media co_LAB research group. The Web We Want festival is investigating the past 25 years of the Web and its possible future. The festival is inspired by the work of Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web and produced in partnership with Sir Tim’s World Wide Web Foundation.

The co_LAB team is running an intensive interdisciplinary workshop (21-28 May) in Lincoln, designed to bring together students from across all the three colleges within the University. The call for participants was aimed at Level 2 students and resulted in students from the School of Film and Media (College of Arts), School of Computer Science (College of Science) and School of Psychology (College of Social Science) collaborating together on a core brief. This is a very exciting opportunity for students and staff to collaborate on a great project and participate in a major national event at a fantastic location. This sees the development of a strong partnership between the University of Lincoln and the Southbank Centre, and is a great opportunity to present the university and city to a wider audience.  The workshop explores how the Magna Carta might be repurposed for the digital age (in the context of civic participation and safeguarding civil rights and liberties). That brief was centred around surveillance culture, privacy and big data.

The workshop explored these issues through practice-based research methods, and from different disciplinary contexts, with the aim of engaging the public in critical debate. Student participants were set the challenge to design (and then deliver) a ‘workshop’ and some form of technical installation (featuring the Oculus Rift and other interactive devices) which will be exhibited at the Web We Want Festival at Southbank Arts Centre, London 29 – 31 May. How do we avoid being controlled by the few and make sure that we build the web WE want? How can we mobilise a digital society and combat apathy? Join the resistance as co_LAB fuses thought, experimentation, development and research to create an evolving exhibition responding to recent outbreaks of apathy.

Watch co_LAB in action as they work to create the antidote.  Play with our live installation www.25 where your input, thoughts and actions can help us decide what the internet needs to change and what can stay as it is. co_LAB’s home is at the University of Lincoln, but its reach is international. It is a fluid collective of creatives, academics and students from different disciplines, the perpetually curious and – in this instance – you. Participate through your device or in person, and answer the questions with us.

See more at: http://colab.lincoln.ac.uk | http://webwewant.southbankcentre.co.uk