On Thursday 25 March 2010, people in hundreds of cities around the world, including Newcastle will come together offline to rally around the important cause of Education by hosting local events to have fun and create awareness.  Twestival™ (or Twitter Festival) uses social media for social good.

All of the local events are organized 100% by volunteers and 100% of all ticket sales and donations go direct to projects. Follow @tynetwestival on Twitter or visit http://newcastle.twestival.com for updates.

About Concern Worldwide.

Concern Worldwide was founded in 1968 to meet the needs of people living in extreme poverty, for whom every day is a fight for survival. Concern is a non-governmental, international, humanitarian organization dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of poverty. Their mission is to help people living in extreme poverty achieve major improvements in their lives – improvements they can sustain without ongoing support. Concern meets the needs of these people in a caring and personalized manner, respecting their human and cultural dignity. They are committed to reaching the most vulnerable, even in the most difficult of circumstances.

Concern’s work is informed by a vision for change and their education programs target the poorest people in the poorest countries in the world, with particular emphasis on reaching out-of-school children such as girls, orphans, street children, working children, children affected by conflict, children affected by HIV and AIDS, and children with disabilities. Concern’s education programs currently reach over 700,000 people in 25 countries across the regions of Africa,  Asia, and the Caribbean.  Please follow @concern on Twitter to get a glimpse of their staff tweeting from around the world; including their efforts on the ground in Haiti.

Where the Twestival funds will go.

Each city and school hosting a Twestival will be given the opportunity to select an area of education to support.  This will be recognized with a special icon on their website once they have set a goal.  For as little as $28USD they can provide the uniform, books, pencils, and paper a child needs to attend one year of school.

Concern Worldwide are able to guarantee that 100% of Twestival funds will go direct to project costs.  This means that the money would be used for material purchases (curriculum, desks, pencils) as well as project activities such as construction of schools; rehabilitation of classrooms; teacher/management training; PTAs; HIV/AIDS school clubs; water and sanitation in schools; health education in schools; education advocacy; vocational/life-skills training for youth, farmers and women; and curriculum development for secondary school/university.

Money will not be used for things like administration, overhead, reporting oversight, etc. Concern Worldwide requires all fields that receive money strictly adhere to a six- and 12-month formal reporting protocol in which the field details the specific activities it has undertaken and how the funds were utilized. This system provides a very tangible case studies, evidence and updates, and other detailed information about how programs have progressed and benefited program participants; including the financial allocation in field; the GPS locations of schools in receipt of funds; digital video clips and photos from the schools; and case studies/quotes from people who have benefitted from the projects.  As cities are confirmed and fundraising goals are set, we will work with the team at Concern Worldwide to identify specific projects we will be supporting.

Just a reminder that Tyne Tees Twestival will be held this coming Monday.  The team here at Twestival Towers are really excited and have been a bit hectic of late, hence the direct mailing!  Thanks to everyone who has bought a ticket already, and I hope you will encourage others to do the same!

It’s on Monday at 7pm at Hoults Yard within the Boiler House – I just realized that I’ve been calling it the Boiler Room….oops!  The photo comes from PJ White’s Flickr account – worth a look! You’ll find a map on our blog page – thanks Google!

If you can not get a ticket before the event, send us a Tweet so we know you are coming along (and will buy more booze/food). You can donate on the door as Better Brand Agency will be manning it along with a big donation box.

So…the all important question – what does your £10 DONATION for each ticket get you?…
1)    Automatic entry to the raffle.  Prizes include Xbox games, DVD players, professional services, holidays, FlipMinos etc. All thanks to our *Mystery Box sponsors.  *Mystery Boxes are gift wrapped boxes and once your ticket number is picked out, you’ll have a choice of boxes and you’ll only know what the contents are once you open them!

2)    Free booze and food. There will not be a bar but we’ll have booze by the bucket full. The food will be provided by Olive and Bean – a favourite of many regional event companies and we can see why as they have been tremendous

3)    We’ll be hosting FriiSpray on the night. FriiSpray is a project thought up by three heads in the North of England, based at the Innovation North co-working space in the Old Broadcasting House, Leeds. It is essentially an open source project which connects the Wiimote and the computer which let’s people create digital, or virtual grafitti as an interactive media installation.  If you haven’t heard of it take a look at some of the Flickr images. The lads from Leeds were at Thinking Digital this year so this is their second outing in the North East.

4)    We’ll have the usual music and networking.

5)    A chance to “Guitar Hero” your way to a FREE Thinking Digital ticket worth over £500.

6)    Cupcake Club. It’s famous on Twitter……and thanks to Laura Maddison of Altitude Recruitment we’ll be having a cupcake bake sale (try saying that with a few drinks on you).  Each cupcake will cost £1 and the money – yet again will go to charity. That’s every single penny!

7)    Last but not least, we’re offering you the chance to meet Twitter users in the area – you know the type.  You’ve never met, or had to learn their real names, yet you know them well enough to Tweet away to them until the wee hours. Yup – they’ll be there in the flesh!

I hope you will buy a ticket before the week is up – it’ll make our jobs a lot easier and please do spread the word!  If you have any questions, please drop us a line via Twitter or email us at tttwestival [@] googlemail.com.

Details of headline sponsor and corporate sponsors opportunities will be announced shortly, as will some of the ideas we’ve got to make this year, bigger and better. So keep an eye on the Twitter accounts @TyneTwestival and@TeesTwestival and local media for more news.

So what is Twestival?
Twestival grew from a small group of Twitter users who came together offline in order to raise money for a local charity. After a number of small scale events it was decided to take Twestival global.  On the 12th of February 2009 the world realized that it was more than just another charity gig – it became a movement.  Over 220 cities hosted Twestival on the same day, each with a common goal – coming together offline to raise money for charity:water.

Twestival is back and this time we have the chance to support a local charity.  We hope to raise even more this time around using Twitter for social change. We hope that you will get involved and encourage other Twitter users to come along to the event to meet like minded people who want to make a real difference in their local area and network.

So who’s behind Tyne and Tees Twestival?
There‘s a small team behind both events Mark Easby (@easbynow), Declan Metcalfe (@declanmetcalfe) and Aoife Ross (@aoifebeefah) but we believe that this event is owned by the collective community and hope that you will engage with us and enjoy the experience as much as we do. TyneTwestival and TeesTwestival
will be held on different dates, giving everyone in the North East the chance to go to
one or both of the events. Dates to be confirmed but it will beheld between the 10th –
14th of September.

What will happen at the event?
As with the last Twestival it will be a laid back affair, open to all and a lot of fun.
We’ll have some activities planned (get your Rockstar pout ready!) but the main drive of the event is to raise money for charity and let your hair down! We’re happy to accept ideas for fund raising activities and welcome budding photographers and film makers to come along and take some shots.

How will money be raised?
We’re keen to keep the process as transparent as possible and thanks to Amiando we hope to sell tickets (with 100% of the profits going DIRECTLY to the charity).

In addition to this, there will be a raffle and we are also looking at fund raising ideas on the night. 100% of funds will go directly to charity so dig deep and give generously.

About the charities:
Money raised at Tees Twestival will go Teesside Hospice. Teesside Hospice Care Foundation was formed in 1982 as a response to the shortfall in specialised care for those suffering from a life limiting illness in the Tees Valley and North Yorkshire region.

Teesside Hospice’s primary aim is to act as a resource to the local community to provide holistic specialist palliative care at any point during a life-limiting illness by controlling symptoms relating to their illness such as pain and nausea, providing Respite Care giving families and carers the opportunity to have a break and rehabilitating patients who may have had a long stay in hospital to allow them to return home to their families if that is possible or another care provision when home is not an option organisations.

Tyne Twestival is supporting North of England’s Children’s Cancer Research Fund.  NECCR was formed in 1979 by a small group of parents whose lives had been changed forever by childhood cancer. Some parents had lost children, while others were grateful that their children had overcome the disease.  The aims of the NECCR are to raise money for continuing vital research into the causes and treatment of cancer in childhood. Since 1979 the charity has raised over 6 million pounds and has established the North of England as one of the world leaders in the research and treatment of childhood cancer. The NECCR supports a whole team of doctors, scientists, statisticians and research nurses, who work with the Children’s Cancer Unit in the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. The core of the Unit is provided by four full time post which the NECCR endowed at a cost of 1.4 million pounds and the remaining staff are provided on short term funding.  Research is published and used by those treating children with cancer around the world.

Want to headline this global event?
If your company wishes to get involved in Twestival please let us know. We have a number of Twestival sponsor options available.

Contact us on email via TTTwestival[@]googlemail.com, call us on 08451 222611, or follow TyneTwestival and TeesTwestival on Twitter at @TyneTwestival and@TeesTwestival.

Why not get involved in Twestival, a party in 50+ cities around the world on 12th February 2009. Funds raised go to Charity Water. Newcastle’s Twestival party, for tweeters across the North East, will be in Newcastle. And you’re invited!

On 12 February 2009 cities around the world will be hosting Twestivals which bring together Twitter communities for an evening of fun and to raise money and awareness for charity: water.

Join the Twestival campaign by hosting a Twestival in your city, attending an event, or participating online.

The Twestival is organized 100% by volunteers in cities around the world and 100% of the money raised from these events will go directly to support charity: water projects.

In September 2008, a group of Twitterers based in London UK decided to organise an event where the local Twitter community could socialize offline; meet the faces behind the avatars, enjoy some entertainment, have a few drinks and tie this in with a food drive and fundraising effort for a local homeless charity.

The bulk of the event was organized in under two weeks, via Twitter and utilized the talents and financial support of the local Twittersphere to make this happen.

Around the world similar stories started appearing of local Twitter communities coming together and taking action for a great cause. Twestival was born out of the idea that if cities were able to collaborate on an international scale, but working from a local level, it could have a spectacular impact.

Visit the website at http://twestival.com/ from more information or follow Twestival (http://twitter.com/tynetwestival) and Tynetwestival (http://twitter.com/twestival/) on Twitter.