Articles

Posted by Tom Chivers on 16/12/11

Digital Editor Tom Chivers shows you around Free Word's new website, which launches today (19th December)

Hello, and welcome to the new Free Word website, which has been something of a labour of love for myself, project manager Sarah Bourn and the whole Free Word team since we started developing it in the summer. We’ve been working with web design agency Exploded View to build an ambitious, content-driven website that captures the diverse range of exciting and vital activities that happens at 60 Farringdon Road and beyond.

Every week we will be publishing new articles, blogs and multimedia content from around the Free Word community. You can explore the themes we’re investigating using the tag list on the top right of each page – from free expression in the Middle East to poetry and spoken word, and much more.

You can also explore our programmes, projects and festivals in the Programmes section of the website. For example, as part of our recent Translators in Residence programme you can read blogs by translators Nicky Harman and Rosalind Harvey, alongside reviews of events, photos and a video of Rosalind’s translation game in Brick Lane Market. Regular blogs will throw a spotlight both on immediate neighbours in Clerkenwell, such as our local bookshop, and on international friends and partners; and each month we will introduce someone who works at the Free Word Centre.

I hope the new website will give you a real sense of what Free Word is about, and also point you towards some of the brilliant organisations that are based here. You could start by reading more about our eight residents, and then move on to our twenty five or so associates!

We have made it much easier to find out what's on and book tickets for events in the Centre, and if you just want to find out what the cafe serves, who our trustees are, or how to book a meeting room, you can get that info here too.

Free Word is about discussion, debate and, of course, freedom of speech. So we'd encourage you to interact by commenting on articles and blog posts. You can also follow Free Word on Twitter and become our friend on Facebook.

We hope you'll enjoy watching the site grow, as we develop new programmes and content for 2012 and beyond. Like all new websites, there might be a few bugs, dead links and typos lurking for the first few weeks. If you spot any, please let me know by dropping a line to tom@freewordonline.com

Thank you, happy browsing and spread the word!