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Entries for September 2005
Publisher Helps NOLA Youth Book
(US) All of us were touched in some way viewing the devastation of New Orleans after hurricane Katrina hit—(on a personal note, New Orleans is my favourite city I've ever visited and really hope it can return to what I fell in love with). The Neighborhood Story Project was…
Filed September 30 2005 | READ IT
White Paper
I've already mentioned Brett Pawlowski's blog and his company DeHavilland Associates in a previous post here. What I didn't mention is on his corporate site he has a couple of great white papers available FREE for download. 'Options in Education Outreach'—a white paper introducing a range of program models…
Filed September 29 2005 | READ IT
Apple Education
(US) The Detroit Public Schools have joined forces with Apple in an agreement which sees a $1.2million lease scheme of 780 laptops, iPods, digital cameras and computer software. Apple is also 'donating' 100 days worth of technology and teaching support, including on-site help in classrooms as teachers and…
Filed September 29 2005 | READ IT
Let's Get Personal
I recently entered into an email dialogue with a fellow blogger (she blogs with a focus on the development issues relating to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)) and found myself having a little rant which I thought would be useful to share here. Due to the strategic nature of Phatgnat…
Filed September 28 2005 | READ IT
Nokia Works With Football Idols
(AFR) Nokia's latest community activity in Africa aims to use the influence of football heroes to bring HIV education to young people. Nokia says 'We believe in investing in our shared future, using our strengths—connecting and communicating—to help young people grow…Leadership for Health improves young people's leadership, time, and…
Filed September 28 2005 | READ IT
Who's Wearing The Trousers?
(WORLD) In this article, which appeared earlier this month, the Economist takes issue with the suggestion that companies and their brands are nearly as powerful or as insidious as many, including No Logo's Naomi Klein, suggest. They add that young people are some of the most cynical consumers around…
Filed September 28 2005 | READ IT
Causes & Cynicism
(WORLD) The Nestle Very Best in Youth Campaign has just announced the winners of its 2005 competition. This biannual program is run with the 'Reading is Fundamental' campaign and honors youth 10 to 18 years old whose extracurricular activities and academic record demonstrate strength of character. Competitive nominees must…
Filed September 28 2005 | READ IT
The Unteachables
(UK) I hated school. Never could get with the notion that sitting behind a desk for 6 hours everyday being bawked at would come to anything. Most lessons held very little interest for me and don't get me started on the teachers and their methods… Now learning punctuation through…
Filed September 28 2005 | READ IT
UK School Junk Food Ban
(UK) Governer Schwarzenegger has already banned junk food from the schools in his state and it seems the UK will be following suit. The Education Secretary, Ruth Kelly, has announced a total ban on junk foods in the nations schools, plus vending machines will now be banned from stocking…
Filed September 28 2005 | READ IT
Personalisation Rules
(World) It's not a surprise to find that a global youth survey (undertaken by Yahoo! and OMD) highlights how much young people love personalisation in all its forms. What really sets today's youth apart is the expectation that they can customize and personalize everything in their world and daily experiences…
Filed September 27 2005 | READ IT
Crazy 'Cow' Ringtone
(UK) We all know how much annoyance that 'crazy frog' ringtone spread through the nation, well, Britain's Milk Development Council (MDC) has released the Mootone, featuring Charlotte and the Barbershop Cows, as part of its School Milk Project. Diane Cannon, School Milk Project Manager, said: 'Charlotte the Cow has…
Filed September 27 2005 | READ IT
Lack Of Enterprising Youth
(UK) According to a new report from Enterprise Insight (a coalition founded by the UK's main business organisations in partnership with leading enterprise development organisation), in spite of the desire young people have to make their mark in the world, they are struggling to find the motivation to become…
Filed September 26 2005 | READ IT
Independent Living Designs
(UK) The Independent Living exhibition is an opportunity for students to present their designs for more usable devices to potential manufacturers. Nothing has been off limits from toilet seats to central heating timers. Here's my favourite from occupational therapist student Warren Goodland: Among telephone users, he found the most…
Filed September 26 2005 | READ IT
New Blog
(US) Over at Brett Pawlowski blog (President of DeHavilland Associates—a US-based agency enabling corporate, nonprofit, and foundation clients make a difference in K-12 education), he covers two great initiatives: An outreach program designed by Dole Foods who are donating Salad Bars plus Nutrition Education to public schools throughout California….
Filed September 25 2005 | READ IT
Inernet Rangers
(UK) To mark Granparents Day (24th September) BT has creating 'Internet Rangers' to encourage young people to teach their granparents internet skills. 'With the internet becoming the communication tool of choice for fundamental services like medical information and education, the digitally excluded will be significantly disadvantaged when trying to…
Filed September 24 2005 | READ IT
Frugal Teens
(US) Reveries has an insightful piece about how US teens are becoming more and more thrifty with their money. Spending by teenagers has dropped four percent in the last year to $158 million and young people are utilising online retail outlets and second-hand stores for the purchases. Which is…
Filed September 22 2005 | READ IT
Thank You…
Thanks to everyone who completed the Phatgnat Online Youth Survey and also to those of you who ditributed and blogged about it. The survey results will be announced in the next Phatgnat newsletter….
Filed September 22 2005 | READ IT
Inspiration
Sometimes inspiration can smack you on the side of the head without remorse—thank it! I recently came across Michael Pritchard through an Edutopia e-newsletter. I read the article and watched the movies—man this guy is pure inspiration. Part comic, part educator, part challenger and part counsellor—how many people do…
Filed September 21 2005 | READ IT
Only One Day Left…
Only one day left to participate in the Phatgnat Online Youth Survey (closes at midnight Wednesday 21 Sept—GMT). If you are aged between 11-25 years please take the time to complete, alternatively, if you would forward the survey link on to other relevant people / networks it would be gratefully…
Filed September 21 2005 | READ IT
The Phatgnat Fortnightly Challenge #13
'The Phatgnat Fortnightly Challenge' has been developed to demonstrate the services of Phatgnat and to illustrate how brands and companies can create high-profile youth projects which also satisfies public sectors aims and objectives. Brand: Microsoft Potential Partners: Whizz Kidz Project:Create an online interactive virtual youth club for disabled young…
Filed September 21 2005 | READ IT
Phatgnat Newsletter #25 (21 Sept 05)
[This entry has been temporarily removed for reformatting.]…
Filed September 21 2005 | READ IT
Romance Academy
(UK) I just finished watching a BBC2 programme called No Sex Please, We're Teenagers where 12 young people attended the 'Romance Academy' and made a pledge to abstain from sexual antics for four months. During that time they committed to join a group that would challenge them to examine…
Filed September 20 2005 | READ IT
DK Podcast Interview
EXCLUSIVE: Piers Fawkes of 'global trend collaborative' PSFK interviews me via podcast about Phatgnat and many other things. Listen to the podcast here….
Filed September 20 2005 | READ IT
Scholarships For Trendspotters
(US) Six college education scholarships have been given by The Intelligence Group (a trend-forecasting and marketing consultancy) in conjunction with the CAA Foundation. Their simple motivation was to 'give back to the community that has inspired us and taught us about the lives of young people'. The scholarships were…
Filed September 20 2005 | READ IT
Individual Cult
'How can a society that exists on instant mashed potatoes, packaged cake mixes, frozen dinners, and instant cameras teach patience to its young?', Paul Sweeney The term 'mass-consumer' is marked and rarely used in the context of today's marketplace. Sure there still exists a tribal element through sports, automobiles…
Filed September 19 2005 | READ IT
A Few Days Left…
…to complete the Phatgnat Online Youth Survey- aimed at 11-25 year olds, it explores the influencers behind thepurchasing decisions young people make and investigates how they viewbrands and companies who invest in 'community projects', plus if this has any impact on where they spend their pound/dollar/yen etc. Participants have the…
Filed September 19 2005 | READ IT
Healthy Media Consumption Rules
(UK) Two former media executives (Teresa Orange and Louise O'Flynn), are on a mission to stop British youth turning into a 'generation of slack-jawed couch potatoes'. The book, The Media Diet For Kids, focusses on how younge people are spending too much time in front of screens (be it…
Filed September 19 2005 | READ IT
Discounted Holidays Expanded
(UK) Back in March Phatgnat outlined how a pilot scheme in the Midlands enabled families to take cheaper holidays during the school holidays to ensure kids were not taken out of school during term time (Post—Discounts To Keep Kids In School). Six months later, Every Lesson Counts is the…
Filed September 18 2005 | READ IT
Marketing Disruption
'Marketing Disruption' is a term coined by Hugh Mcleod to describe his recent campaign to introduce a new wine label to the world. Using his extension readership and blogging network he is offering sample bottles of Stormoek wine at no cost. There is no catch. The intention is to…
Filed September 17 2005 | READ IT
Young Entrepreneurs
(EUR) Talented young people who know their own market and have great ideas for products and businesses are being supported by the European Union to grow the companies of tomorrow. This report looks at various programmes across Europe and includes case studies of successful businesses. One of the companies…
Filed September 15 2005 | READ IT
Shifting Gears
(US) Awards for young disabled artists sponsored by Volkswagon have just been announced. 'Shifting Gears' helps young disabled artists to get profile and recognition for their work. 'As a company that values diversity and inclusion, we look for ways to highlight the extraordinary creativity and talents of young Americans…
Filed September 15 2005 | READ IT
Selling Volunteering
(US/UK) Boost Mobile is a telecommunications brand from Nextel communications whose brand is aimed solely at youth. They say 'Since 2002, Boost Mobile's quality products and unique branding efforts, which fuse youth aspiring sports, music, fashion and entertainment, have enabled American youth to boost their lifestyle, build stronger connections…
Filed September 15 2005 | READ IT
Youth 2 Youth
(AUS) Youth2Youth 'works Australia-wide with schools, colleges, universities, councils and major corporates to inspire and develop their young people aged 15-35 years' - how fantastic! They also produce the free monthly IGNITE newsletter (which very kindly mentioned Phatgnat's 'The Youth Of Today' manifesto). As a youth professional, it's great…
Filed September 14 2005 | READ IT
One Week Left…
…to complete the Phatgnat Online Youth Survey—aimed at 11-25 year olds, it explores the influencers behind the purchasing decisions young people make and investigates how they view brands and companies who invest in 'community projects', plus if this has any impact on where they spend their pound / dollar /…
Filed September 14 2005 | READ IT
Homelessness Charity Gets Royal Patron
(UK) Young people's homelessness charity Centrepoint today announced their new patron—Prince William, a position his mother, Princess Diana, held years before. The Prince said: 'Charities like Centrepoint do such an amazing job in helping to combat homelessness and social exclusion and I just wanted to lend my support to…
Filed September 13 2005 | READ IT
Doing Well By Doing Good
(US)Golin Harris has released its third Doing Well by Doing Good 2005 report. Although focussed on the US market the content is very interesting as it discusses not only a rise in corporate citizenship for many brands / companies but also the rise in expectations of the public. 'What…
Filed September 13 2005 | READ IT
Conference Call
Would anyone attending the Ethical Corporation Conference, 'How to communicate your corporate values to consumers' on November 22-23 in London, like to report on it for Phatgnat? Get in touch here. A suggestion was put to the conference hosts regarding creating a blog for the conference and even though…
Filed September 13 2005 | READ IT
Phatgnat Online Youth Survey
The latest issue of the Phatgnat Newsletter marks the launch of the Phatgnat Online Youth Survey (aimed at 11-25 year olds). The survey explores the influencers behind the purchasing decisions young people make and investigates how they view brands and companies who invest in 'community projects', plus if this…
Filed September 12 2005 | READ IT
MTV's Video Competition
(World) MTV's Staying Alive Campaign has again partnered with OneWorldTV to deliver a high-profile and global competition for 15-25 year olds. The aim of this year's competition is to inform and sensitise young people about the vulnerabilities of women and girls to HIV/AIDS and to prevent new infections. The…
Filed September 12 2005 | READ IT
Hitting The Mark
(US) To illustrate an example of good practice (see previous post), Crayola commissioned a national survey asking young people if they could erase one thing in the world what would it be? The answer… violence. Crayola fielded the survey to give kids a voice in deciding where the company…
Filed September 12 2005 | READ IT
Great Blog
(World) Check out this collaborative blog written by young people who want to see a change in the world. They are a group formed out of the UNICEF forums and their tagline for the description of the blog is: 'We are a group of young teens all believe in unity…
Filed September 12 2005 | READ IT
Missing The Mark
(US) Sometimes you come across a brand who are trying to do good but miss the mark in their execution. One such example is Brusters Ice-Cream. The launch of their new 'advertainment website' is aimed specifically at their younger consumers and have the usual cartoon characters and interactive elements….
Filed September 12 2005 | READ IT
New Phatgnat Blogger
Phatgnat would like to welcome our first contributing blogger, Rhiannon Suter—check out the last two posts—bio to follow. Would you like to join us?…
Filed September 11 2005 | READ IT
Reaching Out To Disabled Young People (Part 1)
(UK) Public and private sector organisations are waking up to the commercial benefits of engaging with disabled young people in the UK. In this article Whizz Kidz Ambassador Joshua Dennis, talks about an event Goldman Sachs held to encourage disabled young people to think about a career in Investment…
Filed September 11 2005 | READ IT
Reaching Out To Disabled Young People (Part 2)
(UK) Ouch is a great news and views site focusing on disability from the BBC and currently has an article with an interesting spin on 'goth' culture from a girl with aspergers syndrome. BT's 2005 social report details how they see young people as key to promoting digital inclusion…
Filed September 11 2005 | READ IT
Back-To-School
(US) Sara Lee Food & Beverage will donate a percentage of sales from Sara Lee meats to the Kids In Need Foundation. The intention is to raise up to $1million for the campaign which aims to give school supplies for needy kids. PromoMagazine article link….
Filed September 10 2005 | READ IT
What Generation Gap?
(US) According to the market research firm Yankelovich the generation gap is diminishing. In a survey of 1,458 6 to 17 year olds 'kids talk more and pester less about traditionally parent-driven purchases'. The 'nag-factor' is disappearing and being replaced by respectful dialogue. John Page, youth insights manager for…
Filed September 10 2005 | READ IT
Marc Jacobs vs Lil Kim
(US) The following pictures (click to enlarge) was sent to Phatgnat by our friend Piers Fawkes (who runs PSFK—a trendspotting collaborative in New York). He spotted in Marc Jacobs store a new t-shirt featuring rap diva The Door. Here's what the 'blurb' says on the shop window: 'The Door,…
Filed September 9 2005 | READ IT
HELP WANTED
The Phatgnat Weblog is looking for contributors—if you are a like-minded, social-observer, cultural-voyeur and a net-curtain-twitcher, then please contact us to become part of the Phatgnat Weblog team. Q. What is the Phatgnat Weblog? A. The Phatgnat Weblog reviews the space between the commercial and public sectors, focusing on…
Filed September 8 2005 | READ IT
Phatgnat Newsletter #24 (7 September 05)
[This entry has been temporarily removed for reformatting.]…
Filed September 7 2005 | READ IT
The Phatgnat Fortnightly Challenge #12
'The Phatgnat Fortnightly Challenge' has been developed to demonstrate the services of Phatgnat and to illustrate how brands and companies can create high-profile youth projects which also satisfies public sectors aims and objectives. Brand: Any high street bank e.g. Natwest, RBS, Barclays etc. Potential Partners: Local Connexions Offices Project:…
Filed September 6 2005 | READ IT
Stay In School Video
(US) 'Stay In School' is a video made by high school students which gave them a taste of creating a video as part of a project sponsored by communications giant Time Warner. Time Warner, in an effort to engage under-served youth in media and creative arts programs, supported a…
Filed September 3 2005 | READ IT
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