Projects
The Slugger Awards
In its own informal way, Slugger as acted more as a critical friend than fawning acolyte or jaded oppositionalist. Unlike most major political blogs, Slugger is conciously pro-political. We want to improve the quality of the politics that we cover. And that means catching politicians being good occasionally.
This project was launched in 2008 and culminating in in a lively awards evening. Sponsored by Channel 4, MWH Worldwide and Stratagem NI, the event attracted over 250 attendees including MLAs, councillors, journalists and bloggers. You can visit the official Awards website, or download a full-colour impact report of the 2008 awards here (PDF).
Now in their third year, these awards will be subject to regular changes and are destined to be an annual event, forming the main awards event in Northern Ireland’s political calendar. If you would like further details of sponsorship opportunities, please contact Paul Evans on +44 (0)7973 714206, or email us.
Political Innovation
In May 2009, Slugger launched ‘PICamp’ – the Political Innovation Camp at Queens University Belfast. Convened in two weeks, this event was the first political ‘Unconference‘ that has been held in Northern Ireland.
It received over 50 attendees and attracted a good deal of media attention including coverage from BBC’s Hearts & Minds programme (see below). The PICamp idea then went on to form a cornerstone to NESTA’s ‘Reboot Britain’ initiative with a London launch in July 2009.
The Political Innovation events will be taking place throughout the UK and Ireland in the Autumn of 2010 in partnership with a range of leading political blogs, it will build up a community of people interested in promoting political innovation. You can visit the Political Innovation site here.
