Savvy Chavvy

Savvy Chavvyis a community forum for young gypsy travelers, established in partnership with UnLtd and Mediabox. It encourages members to see media as a democratic means of self-expression through which they can control how their community is perceived by others. They get training in social media and how to distribute content on networking sites. Combining social media with web 2.0 technology, Savvy Chavvy gives young members of an often misrepresented and marginalized community the opportunity to take control of how they are portrayed. As the trained members produce photography, podcasts and video-blogs, they encourage participation from an expanding base, now over 2500 people strong. As a user-administered community, Savvy Chavvy is a democratic outlet for young gypsy traveler stories to move into the mainstream media. Supporting social life as much as social purpose, with much of the gypsy traveler community no longer able to move around, social networking will go some way to counter declining community cohesion.