Dr Sue Black, author of ‘Saving Bletchley Park: How #socialmedia saved the home of the WWII codebreakers’ speaking at Inspirefest 2015. Photo: Conor McCabe Photography
Founder of TechMums Dr Sue Black’s crowdfunded book on efforts to save the venue of Alan Turing’s famous codebreakers in the UK has hit the bookshelves.
Bletchley Park has enjoyed quite the resurgence in interest of late, with Hollywood and beyond casting its gaze on the home of UK codebreaking.
Now Dr Sue Black’s look at how enthusiasts used social media to drive up the historical landmark’s popularity is available, chronicling a campaign that helped secure Bletchley Park’s future and transform it into a world-class heritage and education centre.
The book was crowdfunded and its inception point was a tweet from Stephen Fry, who writes the foreword for ‘Saving Bletchley Park: How #socialmedia saved the home of the WWII codebreakers’.
Kerry Howard spoke about Bletchley Park at last year’s Inspirefest, noting the immense role dozens of incredible men and women played in tilting the war in the Allies’ favour.
“It is a book about campaigners, veterans, enthusiasts, computer geeks, technology, Twitter, trees and Stephen Fry stuck in a lift,” says its publisher. Sounds good.
It’s Black’s role with TechMums – a social enterprise that is empowering mothers by teaching them computer skills – which may be better known in Ireland.
Mothers spend two hours per week during school hours doing the training together at the children’s school. Over the course of 10 weeks, they learn how to use email, documents and spreadsheets, how to design apps and websites, how to use social media, how to keep safe online, and how to code with Python.
Inspirefest is Silicon Republic’s international event connecting sci-tech professionals passionate about the future of STEM. Join us again from 30 June to 2 July 2016 for fresh perspectives on leadership, innovation and diversity. Book your tickets now.
