On 12/16 and 12/20 (this Tuesday and Saturday), the Create a Comic Project and the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH) are collaborating on a special event called "Healthy Holidays." The event is being hosted by the Squirrel Hill branch of the Carnegie Library.
Healthy Holidays is a public health promotion event, designed to raise awareness in the general community about ways to keep in good shape over the Christmas season. Library patrons are given a tip at random, create a comic based on the tip, and get candy in return (the candy is intended ironically).
Like the National Public Health Week event, it uses comicvoice to record the perspectives of individuals. The goal is to collect a large number of comics representing viewpoints from a broad spectrum. Both blank templates and comic templates are being used. Blank templates will be displayed at GSPH.
In addition to being educational, the event is intended as a proof of concept for future projects. The question is whether table sitting in a high traffic location and offering a small treat/prize in exchange for making a comic on a certain theme is effective at community outreach. If this event does work well, a similar setup will be used for National Public Health Week 2009 and its theme of healthy foundations.
Areas of concern with the current design include the passivity of table sitting and the reluctance people may have in investing time to make a comic. A more active approach to recruiting participants or larger compensation may help increase numbers if this project comes up lacking. These design changes will be considered depending on the results garnered here.
There may or may not be pictures and video from the event, depending on approval from the library and participants. I'll post which comics I'm using soon (hint: a lot of them). This event counts as a Create a Comic Module, due to the integration of comics with an educational theme.
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