A Blog from Oxjam Nottingham – No. 1
August 30, 2007
Hello to anyone who maybe reading this. I’m not really sure how to start this post off. I guess that I should start by introducing myself so that you know who is writing these (hopefully) interesting and informative words…
My name is Paul and I am one of the Oxjam Regional Co-ordinators for Nottingham. If you are reading this, I am guessing that you know what Oxjam is, but for those of you who may have stumbled upon this blog by sheer accident or curiosity and think that ‘Oxjam’ is a new type of meat-based preserve, let me tell you otherwise. Oxjam is basically a month-long music festival taking place in October to raise a million pounds for Oxfam. It will see members of the public organise music events all over the country as part of Oxjam. If you want to find out more, point your browsers in this direction.
I was involved in Oxjam last year at the Local Marketing Co-ordinator in Nottingham. The title has changed for this year, but the job is still pretty much the same, and having volunteered last year I guess this has given me good experience for my role this time around. As an Oxjam Regional Co-ordinator I have numerous tasks to do from supporting official Oxjam Music Event Organisers, inspiring the local community to get involved in the festival, through to promoting the festival to the local media and everything in between.
The whole point of me writing this blog is to share my experiences with you all on what I have been doing as an Oxjam Regional Co-ordinator, the progress being made, and to share my feelings through the run up to the festival and during it.
With only a little over a month to go before the start of October… eek, things have been getting busy in regards to all things Oxjam Nottingham. One thing that we have been focusing on is contacting Music Event Organisers (MEOs), promoters, venues, and anyone else who showed some interest in doing something this year, and getting them to confirm their Oxjam Nottingham event details. This is so that hopefully by the middle of September we have a nicely detailed list of Oxjam Nottingham events with which we can take to the local press and promote the festival with. As things stand as I type this, I know of 16 events that are set to go, and come October it would be nice to add a few more to this.
The local press in Nottingham have been pretty supportive about Oxjam Nottingham, which is a relief, as one of the biggest worries is not being able to publicise the events enough. This year the Nottingham Evening Post, Drowned in Sound, LeftLion, BBC Nottingham and Nottingham University’s own student magazine have gotten behind what we are doing and have promised to give coverage to all things Oxjam Nottingham. From doing this last year, plus writing the occasional (non Oxjam related) article for various local media, I have managed to make some good contacts in the local press which has helped immensely.
But the media in Nottingham and the public in general have always been encouraging and got involved in charitable causes; Drop In The Ocean for one springs to mind, which is a huge one day music festival that takes place in the City for charity. While I mention them, I will give them props for giving me some sound advice and support with Oxjam Nottingham. It is good to know that a city that is often given a bad name in the national press, is in fact full of brilliant people and kind people who are willing to give up some of their time to help benefit others.
I was going to write my first blog entry last week, but I had to put it off until this week as I went away to Reading Festival. My ears have just finally stopped ringing and my back recovered enough for me to get the gears in my brain turning and my fingers typing away. Being at the festival over the weekend reminded me of how great music festivals are and the power of music to bring so many thousands of people together in such a positive way. That is what is great about Oxjam, not only is it going to be an excellent month of music and bring thousands of people together, but the public themselves get to put on the festival.
Right, this has been much longer that I expected and if you have reached this sentence I congratulate you for persevering. Before I go, a quick and shameless plug for Oxjam Nottingham. Go here if you are in or around Nottingham and want to find out more about Oxjam events.
PX
