A museum archive is not only a treasury, it tells stories of our past and therefore play a unique role in creating an understanding of our present and future. It is, therefore, important that public archives are made accessible, physically or online, and that perspectives are created for a wide variety of users.

Thanks to digital tools and platforms, the options for innovative management of archives have become countless. They enable new relationships between curators and their audiences and permit new forms of access. They are used to augment reality, to create virtual collections, to diminish distance and disability, to afford new insights, and reveal hidden treasures.

It is, therefore, imperative to engage in cross-over collaboration and explore the opportunities offered for efficient and user-oriented management of archives. We think specifically of combinations of archivists, museum personnel and scientists with creative professionals experienced in film or television, social media, web design, games, mobile and location-based services to develop innovative archive projects with a buy-in on every level.

So, take part at the Museum LAB from September 17-19 in Moorsele, Belgium!

May 30th – June 1st: Crossover Interactive Documentary Development LAB

Are you a documentary producer / director who wants to develop a multiplatform project?

iDROPS and XO Labs UK are using a progressive, market-focused approach to hone and develop ideas, and to prepare producers to thrive in the converged media environment.We invite factual producers who want to develop multiplatform ideas to the apply to the 3-day XODOX multiplatform development LAB (Hothouse). Here they will be guided to apply a robust set of methodologies designed to get them to understand what it takes to produce a successful interactive documentary project.

September 17 – September 19: Museum LAB

The Museum LAB a three day residential lab where 24 creative professionals meet to explore new and unexplored paths. They will spend the three days exploring the potential of digital technologies to create magical experiences: in museums, online, on location. Feedback and coaching are supplied by mentors and at peer-to-peer meetings. The climax of the lab is a pitching session during which the participating teams present their project to a panel of six professionals who are expected to give feedback on the creative and business potential of the pitched ideas.

November 6th: DIY (Do It Yourself) Transmedia Day

DIY DAYS is a roving gathering for those who create. Past stops have included Los Angeles, San Fransisco.. But for the first time it’s coming to Belgium (Ghent!).
Free for participants and organized by volunteers, DIY DAYS is about the accessibility of ideas, resources and networking that can enable creators to fund, create, distribute and sustain.

3,4,5,6,7 December: Fashion & Games LAB

The FASHION & GAMES LAB is a five day residential lab that brings together 30 creative professionals to explore new, untrodden paths. How can games be implemented in branding and marketing? Which applications can you mobilize to build solid and lasting customer relations? How does fashion appear in the various game genres that are currently available in the market? The group will be composed of 10 fashion industry entrepreneurs, 10 game developers and 10 game designers. They will be coached by five lab experts, among whom Frank Boyd (Creative Industries KTN, UK), Wim Wouters (GRIN, BE), Christel De Maeyer (HOWEST), Margaret Robinson (UK) and Pepijn Rijnders (SAKARI GAMES).

Despite of what this website maybe suggests,  the team of iDROPS is very busy! We are in full preparation of the XO DOX DOCJAM in Leuven which will take place in two weeks! Registrations are still open, but don’t wait too long. We already have a nice mix of diverse backgrounds (webdesigners, gamers and documentary makers), so that looks very promising! iDROPS will be present all day to give you a detailed report of this unique event!

But the DOCJAM is not the only project that’s coming along. On the 10^th of May the Social Innovation LAB starts with a KICK OFF in Ghent. To prepare ourselves we had a little version of a mini LAB just for the iDROPS team under guidance of Glen Mehn, the founder of Social Innovation Camp UK.Very inspiring how in such little time we can come up with all this different problems and solutions to tackle poverty in Flanders!

We hope to see you all on our mini LABS.
More information on the website of the social innovation LAB!

More information about the XO DOX Creative “Disrupt my DOC” LAB here!
More information about the DEVELOPMENT LAB here!

We’re very busy nowadays to drop our Social Innovation LAB at events where poverty and/or web- and mobile tools are the central theme. We were present at the Sociale Trefdagen in Ghent and Antwerp where we came in direct contact to a lot of professionals in the social sector. Very interesting!

Last Saturday (24.03) we were in Ghent for Apps For Ghent. A lot of web-, mobile- of game designers (professionals and students) were present there to develop a tool with the open data the city of Ghent made available, and all that just in a couple of hours! We gave a presentation of our social innovation LAB to make the designers and participants see the importance of digital tools in finding solutions for social issues. Afterwards, we got a lot of positive reactions on Twitter (in Dutch)!

Katrienvg: “webtools that can change the world” #idrops
Vanherbruggen: Interessante toelichting over sociale innovatielabs #appsforghent #mypolice @idrops_sil
mportier: @idropslabs leren kennen op #appsforghent. #tisnualweernuttig #doorgevenaancollegas

Interested in our presentation? Find it here.

Last but not least, we congratulate the winners of AppsForGhent: the students of Artevelde Hogeschool with their project “Circadia” and the guys of Research Through Visuals.

The first call for registrations for the participation in the XO Creative and/or XO Development LAB has been sent out.

Are you a documentary producer, director, game developer, game designer or interactive with a dox interest, who want to explore the creative and commercial potential for developing new types of interactive factual content?

Then you’re very welcome at our two LABS!
Find all the information of the CREATIVE LAB here.
All you need to know about the DEVELOPMENT LAB will be available soon.

We’re looking forward to hearing from you very soon.

Oproep  voor productie en communicatie stagaires / vrijwilligers bij iDROPS
iDROPS zoekt stagiaires en vrijwilligers op het gebied van productie en communicatie voor workshops!
iDROPS is het platform dat staat voor innoverende ideegeneratieve & ontwikkelingslabs binnen de creatieve industrie. Daarbij wordt dit jaar voor het eerst ook met andere sectoren samengewerkt.

FUNCTIEOMSCHRIJVING:
Voorbereiden en organiseren labs (workshops)
Opvolgen projecten
Opvolgen partners
Opmaken communicatieplan
Persberichten opstellen
Gebruiken sociale media
Beheer  website

PROFIEL
We zijn op zoek naar iemand die:
- contactvaardig, nauwgezet en stressbestendig is en zelfstandig kan werken
- administratief en organisatorisch sterk is
- ervaring heeft met communicatie: vlotte pen, inzicht in communicatieplanning én productie van events
- meertalig (NL/E) is, zowel geschreven als gesproken
- computervaardig is
- een basiskennis heeft van creatieve industrieën zoals games sector, audiovisuele sector alsook op de hoogte is van digitale media
-kennis wordpress is een meerwaarde
- die asap beschikbaar is

AANBOD:
-Superervaring in een jonge dynamische kader
-Inzicht in de wereld van crossover & creatieve industrieën
-Een rijke ervaring voor op je cv!
-Vrijwilligersvergoeding & onkostenvergoeding

ZIN GEKREGEN?

Mail naar Corine Meijers voor 1 april 2012 via info@idrops.be!