Sukey is an organisation which emerged in Britain on 28 January 2011, with the aim of improving communications among participants in the
student demonstrations. Its immediate aim was to counteract the police tactics of
kettling
Kettling (also known as containment or corralling) is a police tactic for controlling large crowds during demonstrations or protests. It involves the formation of large cordons of police officers who then move to contain a crowd within a li ...
, by co-ordinating information electronically and transmitting it to the protesters, allowing them to avoid the police kettle.
Sukey was founded by Sam Carlisle and Sam Gaus during the occupation by students at
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
. It also featured prominently in the documentar
"The Real Social Network"produced by Quark Films; which centred around the use of technology during the protests and the occupation. During a demonstration, Sukey’s multi-platform news, communications and logistical support system displays realtime police and protest behaviour in a way that protesters on the street can access on their mobile telephones.
Sukey combines validated information sourced directly from protesters via social media feeds including Twitter, Facebook and others with news that comes in by SMS text messages, TV and radio. Sukey recirculates that information back into the crowd using a combination of smartphones and standard feature mobile phones.
Sukey was released on 28 January 2011 and field tested at the peaceful student protests in London on 29 January.
The organization's name is a reference to ending police kettles; Sukey is named after the nursery rhyme '
Polly Put The Kettle On
"Polly Put the Kettle On" is an English nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 7899.
Lyrics
Common modern versions include:
:Polly put the kettle on,
:Polly put the kettle on,
:Polly put the kettle on,
:We'll all have tea.
: ...
', which ends when a character called Sukey is instructed to take the kettle off again.
Sam Gaus went on to use technology developed for the Sukey project for his final major project; a more abstracted crowd sourced mapping project called Croud, the code of which can be found on GitHub.
See also
*
Student activism
Student activism or campus activism is work by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change. Although often focused on schools, curriculum, and educational funding, student groups have influenced greater political e ...
*
Sousveillance
Sousveillance ( ) is the recording of an activity by a member of the public, rather than a person or organisation in authority, typically by way of small wearable or portable personal technologies. The term, coined by Steve Mann, stems from th ...
References
{{reflist
Further reading
Digitized Lives: Culture, Power, and Social Change in the Internet Eraby T.V. Reed
The Spatiality of Control: ICT and Physical Space in Social Protest
Student protests in London
Groupware