Community SpirIT

Community SpirIT was a project set up by CAN to enable community leaders and cultural producers to develop their digital media skills and enable them to promote their arts activities better. It has since become an independent monthly peer-led meet up group.

Community SpirIT was a free, introductory digital-media training course run by Community Arts North West aimed at community leaders and cultural producers in Greater Manchester who organise community-based arts projects & events, but who had little or no online profile and presence.

What the group learnt

Training was split into two, 6-week courses:

• Photography and Video for Web: Participants learnt how to use a DSLR camera for filming and taking photographs, how to edit video and enhance photographs and how to upload content onto their website and social media channels.
• Building a Website: Participants learnt how to create their own website using WordPress, how to use social media to drive traffic to their site, and were shown introductory tools for working with graphics.

Eligibility

This training was funded by the Big Lottery Fund to help excluded communities in Greater Manchester access digital-media skills and resources. Priority was given to participants from disadvantaged backgrounds, for example, culturally diverse communities, refugees and asylum-seekers, women, people aged 50+, people with a disability, people experiencing poverty, and other disadvantaged groups.