Brum Twestival now official!

Rather than keeping a long list of comments going in the other post we figured it was better to do an fresh update post here now more details have been confirmed. We also wanted to address a few questions that have cropped up since we first blogged about the possibility of of a Brum Twestival. So:

Where and when?

Brum Twesival will take place at Poppyred on Thursday February 12th. You can find a map of Poppyred by clicking here. Once we have firmed up a few more details we’ll confirm the start time but it will likely be 7.30pm till late. Thanks goes to Poppyred for providing the venue free of charge.

What?

Brum Twestival will take place in conjunction with over 80 (confirmed) Twestivals in cities all round the world.  The evening will be a ‘tweet up’ with two aims. The first will be to help raise money for Charity : Water and the second will be to meet up with Tweeple you know face to face, say hello to some you don’t and generally enjoy a fun evening together.

On the evening there will be a range of fun things happening including music, live linkups with other Twestivals and a raffle. More details on the specifics  to follow as we get nearer the date.

Why Charity : Water and not a local charity?

A very valid question indeed and one Twestival organisers thought about too before making the decision. First, it’s important to know who Charity : Water are so go and check out their website for yourself. Right now 1.1 billion people on the planet don’t have access to safe, clean drinking water. That’s one in six of us. Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of all sickness and disease, and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Charity : Water is a non-profit organisation working to bring safe drinking water to people in developing nations. Importantly, 100% of the money raised by Twestival will go direct to project costs, funding sustainable water solutions in areas of greatest need. Since 2006 charity : water has funded the construction of more than 600 wells that, when completed will provide drinking water to 250,000 people.

So, hopefully there’s no doubt that supporting a cause like this can only be a good thing. But why did Twestival orgaisers decide to support a single charity? We all know that Twitter can be a powerful communications tool. It can connect, mobilise and inform people around the world instantly. A lot of thought went behind the decision to have each city in the world support the same charity. When you consider the kind of awareness Twitter can bring a unified message as simple as safe drinking water is something that everyone around the world can get behind. There are obviously charities which have similar aims around water, but by bringing in multiple organizations, even if they are working towards a similar goal, dilutes the message. Providing clean, safe drinking water is a simple concept. One charity offers a simple message.

Lastly, in the spirit of Twitter connectedness you can follow @scottharrison one of the founders of Charity Water on Twitter. At the time of writing this Scott is on route to wells in Ethiopia. If you want to know where you’re money goes and how it gets used then following Scott, checking out his photos, and reading his blog should give you a great insight.

How can you get involved?

First and foremost by attending! We currently have 146 people following @brumtwestival and it would be ideal if the majority of those people could make it on the evening. We’re in the process of getting an online ticketing system up for the event which will enable people to register in advance. As soon as this is available we’ll tweet it through @brumtwestival and would encourage people to buy tickets before the 12th if they can come. This will help us to know definite numbers and plan more easily for the evening. There will be a nominal fee for entry which can be paid online, again with 100% of the ticket price going straight to Charity : Water. We’re aiming to keep the entry price low and will let everyone know the amount in the next week or so.

If you do think you CAN attend then please sign up to the mailing list here on brumtwestival.co.uk to give us an initial idea of numbers. If you’re already following @brumtwestival and CANT make it on the evening then don’t worry – you wont be missing out by signing up as all news will still be tweeted. This is really just so we can get an initial show of hands for those who know they can come.

Sponsorship opportunities and raffle prizes

A BIG thank you goes to all those people who have already offered prizes or support for the event. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, or can donate a prize to the raffle then please drop us an email and we’ll give you some more details. We’ll be tweeting all the raffle prizes once they’re confirmed and putting a list up on Brumwtestival.co.uk for everyone to get excited about.