In preparation of the launch of the next phase of Platform-7 Events, we revisit a pivotal workshop provided by international consultancy SHM-Productions, led by Professor Maurice Biriotti.
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SHM is a specialist provider of business services. Since 1996, they have been using deep insights into human motivation to help organisations solve complex human-centred problems.
In July 2012, SHM developed a workshop to unpick the model of Platform-7 Events. In doing so, they uncovered a number of fascinating aspects that surprised them and reinforced much of what was already being noted throughout the network. At the end of the workshop Professor Biriotti delivered the following summary;
There is a travel guide to Britain for Brazilians in the year 2018. The guide has a section about British society. The section explains how there was a group of people in 2012 who became very frustrated with the institutional way of doing things. The current system was inadequate in articulating their experiences. More and more people started to feel this way and events would take place that would help people to talk about their experiences. The movement resisted over definition. Out of the movement, the general public started to donate their time and money, support for the movement started to flood in. The movement became known as an educator, known for their incredible work in performance art. They were a force in politics and were regularly asked by politicians about their views on politics and what they though should be done to change the system. Publications and small businesses have been generated from the movement and hundreds and thousands of people feel that they now belong to the movement.
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The following notes were presented by SHM at the conclusion of the workshop.
Who and what is Platform-7?
People like it but they don’t know why
It’s a matrix
Platform-7 is like a giant matrix. The art and the artists are key to Platform-7. It is a framework and an enabler. Organised but not formulaic.
It about resisting definition
Eventually we want Platform-7 to disappear – the art and the artists are more important, Platform-7 is the vehicle.
It’s intangible
Nothing tangible, like a candle burning- it dissolves like nature. It is not something that you can touch.
It’s about creating an impression
It is a flower in bloom or beginning to bloom, helps to give joy to other people and brings something into people’s lives – unexpected and beautiful. It creates an impression that stays with people. It creates memorable experiences and challenges structures and people’s views.
It is about the small things
We notice small things – details that others might not notice.
It’s about inspiring others
It is about spreading passion and inspiring others, that just multiples. We spread enthusiasm and encourage others to get involved. We are inviting but not pigeon holing, there are no sharp corners.
It’s about being creative
It is about creativity and confidence. It is about people who come together and do something on an emotional level that is creative and respectful.
It’s mysterious
It’s a bit mysterious – not quite sure what you are going to get. The mystery is deliberate. There is no rigid structure- events evolve over time. You don’t know what to compare it to. It challenges you but not in an aggressive way.
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Scholarly but not exclusive
Challenging but not forbidding
Cutting edge but inclusive to ordinary people
Mysterious but not muddled
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Report from the future
There is a travel guide to Britain for Brazilians in the year 2018. The guide has a section about British society. The section explains how there was a group of people in 2012 who became very frustrated with the institutional way of doing things. The current system was inadequate in articulating their experiences. More and more people started to feel this way and events would take place that would help people to talk about their experiences. The movement resisted over definition. Out of the movement, the general public started to donate their time and money, support for the movement started to flood in. The movement became known as an educator, known for their incredible work in performance art. They were a force in politics and were regularly asked by politicians about their views on politics and what they though should be done to change the system. Publications and small businesses have been generated from the movement and hundreds and thousands of people feel that they now belong to the movement.
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Comments that came out of the exercise:
Platform-7 becomes a language and a way of thinking – Platform-7 does not exist. It is not about dictating, it is about reassessing people’s own ways of thinking.
We are interested in creating a different way of doing things.
People like it but they don’t know why – difficult to apply for grants with rigid structures and processes like the Arts Council and the National Lottery.
Proud to be going in a different direction – don’t want criteria that fits the funder.
Passions – what are Platform-7’s passions?
To do things that break the rules of criteria.
To promote social justice – equality of opportunity, giving people the opportunity to express themselves. Saying the unsaid and noticing that there are people left behind.
To dissolve things – the demise (this can sometimes feel frightening).
To create a feeling of freedom – that promotes collective activity.
To promote synchronicity and fluidity. There is no beginning and end, everything continues to develop.
To bring people together and promote collective activity.
To create memorable experiences where the public are moved by the activities that they come across.
To create a form of social awareness. Open people up to their passions.
Next steps
End destination – a number of different things that need to happen:
Build the arc.
Work out how to create the staging posts.
Work out what needs to happen to get there.
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