HEIDI short film: Digital Services at HEIs to Support Digital Action for Social Change

As a closing deliverable for the HEIDI project – and in order to broadcast it in the closing event, which will happen online on May 30th and 31st – the team at UCL produced a video that presents, briefly, all the work done throughout the HEIDI project.

The film explores digital skills in the context of changemaking – organisational or societal change that happens over time, transforms cultural and social institutions, makes a positive difference, and has profound and long-term consequences. In HEIDI we are interested in any form and process of social change that may happen from bottom-up, inclusive participatory processes to address social issues, through Digital Action.

Across the project we have described three forms of digital action: citizen science, where accredited and non-accredited researchers work together; hackathons; and makeathons. Many departments and groups at UCL have worked in HEIDI, and the film captures what they contribute to Digital Action, how they support communities and external groups to participate in, develop and lead Digital Action Projects, and demonstrates how Higher Education Institutions can work profitably with citizens to shape better societies.

The film is available online through existing HEIDI dissemination channels, Citizen and Open Science networks and on various UCL department pages. Along with describing how UCL broadly supports voluntary sector organisations, local community groups and individuals, it also offers different groups at UCL the ability to highlight the support and resources they can offer, or specific areas they work in.

You can watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/CpgHfjcqCsI and read the blogpost written by UCL about it here: Digital Services at HEIs to Support Digital Action for Social Change – A HEIDI short film – Extreme Citizen Science blog (uclexcites.blog)