Interactivism is a series of Hack Weekends where participants are challenged to design and create web based solutions to specific social problems. These events are delivered by FutureGov on behalf of Google, and in partnership with other organisations depending on the challenge.

The first Interactivism posed the challenge of making the Internet more accessible for older people. Working in partnership with the Gransnet, in June 2011 we brought together 20 “grans” to form teams with software developers, designers and social innovators to develop 10 ideas into prototypes. The ideas were selected from over 40 that had been submitted through the Interactivism page on our Simpl website. The winning idea was “EZPZ Web Browser” – a simplified, no frills internet browser.

The second Interactivism was held in February 2012. This time the challenge was to suggest an idea for using the web to help young peo- ple who are unemployed and this time Interactivism attracted over 80 ideas. We partnered with the RSA twho provided some academic research on the topic and hosted a round table discussion with key influencers, and then South London Youth Communications agency, Livity, and the Prince’s Trust helped us to bring together young people with the now familiar mix of developers, designers and innovators to develop 10 ideas to prototype stage. This time the winning idea was FutureBuilder, a well designed, interactivie website that helps young people identify their current skills, whether these would match the requirements for their desired jobs, and what they would need to do to bridge the gap.