Purpose and Goals - Glasgow User Manual
The User Manual will be a ground up publication and will operate as a sympathetic ear and voice for working class people and groups - their events, meetings, culture,activities and ideas which are rarely listed in other publications.
To produce an index of community events, interests and issues, city wide in a guide book format
The Manual will work towards making the community activity visible to all those who wish to take part - through finding and encourage citizens who wish to participate and be active in community affairs and issues.
The project will be run as an open and participatory forum for ideas and events as much as possible. To encourage people in bring ideas to the community forum, and to engender confidence in their abilities to do such things.
The User Manual will be based on the principal of social education. When possible, training and skill-sharing will be given and practiced in an ad hoc basis.The User Manual will encourage groups or individuals who wish to set up their own User Manual project (or other) in their own area to supply information and ideas for publication in the guide
The Manual will actively encourage the setting up of talks workshops and meetings, community forums, desk top publishing groups, educational events, such as panel discussions, conferences and seminars, which will also create information for distribution in the User Manual
Lists of useful addresses - for housing, education outlets, community activities and cross-cultural issues and events. Ways to see Glasgow as your own community in a broader sense.
What to do or get up to - ways and guides as to how you can improve your street, your neighborhood, your community, your environment. Find out what other people, in other parts of the city are doing. Swap ideas and make connections.
Ideas for saving money - the Manual will help to find and do things that don't cost any money; help to share this information with your community, ways to shop, sharing and bartering instead of buying, how to file complaints, knowing where there are support groups to help you, finding street activities, reading and writing and storytelling outlets
The User Manual is committed to critical debate and analysis.
When dealing with money the project will endeavor to ensure a non hierarchical financial structure encouraging participatory economics whenever possible, and the sharing of both creative work, with rote tasks in equal parts
The manual is in receipt of no government monies or has connections or allegiance with any political parties