Viva Computer, our Heritage Lottery funded audio-visual project, is now seeking volunteers to collect stories of the early days of computing in the Cambridge area.

Based here, Viva Computer will tell the story of an industry with deep roots in Cambridge.

Viva Computer will set up a multimedia archive and a festival exhibition which will capture the magic of the computing industry’s history of innovation, with a focus on Cambridge’s unique role. It will capture the stories of those inventors, software and hardware engineers, gaming visionaries and microprocessor developers who sparked a revolution, as well as the stories of those affected and inspired by it.

Computers have transformed the world far beyond the imagination of their inventors. Innovations in computing have triggered wholesale social, cultural and scientific transformation on a speed and scale unparalleled in human history. They have irreversibly changed our ways of thinking, communicating, organising, working, playing and even dating. Yet although many people access computers in their daily lives, they often have little knowledge of the remarkable technological breakthroughs and stories behind the development of the machines, applications and games they use.

Now the project coordinators, Martyn Rayner and Beth Derks, are looking for volunteers to help tell this story. Volunteers will be unpaid but will be given valuable training in media production and editing.

“We are looking for people interested in contributing their time, experience, and passion to make this project a real success,” says Beth Derks. “We need people with a variety of skills – people who would like to train as researchers, interviewers, cameramen, sound recordists and sound and video editors – in order to create the digital archive.”

“As a volunteer you will be part of the team, capturing the stories of some of the leading thinkers and innovators of their day and finding out the vital contributions they made to the digital world as we know it,” Martyn Rayner adds.

If you have relevant experience, knowledge, or if you are simply inspired by the world of computing and would like to be part of the VIVA Computer project, contact viva@computinghistory.org.uk 

ENDS

Photographs:
1 – Beth Derks and Martyn Rayner, in front of an education display in the Centre for Computing History
2 – Volunteers trying out the equipment

Note to editors:

Centre for Computing History
CCH is an educational charity (1130071) and not-for-profit company, which opened in Cambridge in August 2013. Its core purpose is to increase understanding of developments in computing over the past 60 years by exploring the social, cultural and historical impact of the Information Age. The fast-paced nature of the computing industry, along with its tendency to discard irrelevant technology as soon as it becomes outdated, means that the heritage around its origins and subsequent developments is at risk of being lost. CCH aims to preserve this fundamental part of our heritage and ensure it is valued, celebrated and secured for posterity.

Heritage Lottery Fund
Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) aims to make a lasting difference for heritage, people and communities across the UK and help to build a resilient heritage economy. From museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions, we invest in every part of our diverse heritage. In the East of England, HLF has awarded more than £400m to over 3,500 projects, www.hlf.org.uk.

For further information or images, please contact: Beth Derks (Viva Computer in specific 07810 731220) or Elaine Symonds (Centre for Computing History)Tel: 01223 214446.

Date : 18-03-2015