New drive to get hard to reach groups online
14 Apr 2014 04:03 PM
New projects to help
people who are missing out on the digital world and are not yet online have
been announced by the Welsh Government today.
The initiatives will target
those least likely to use the internet, including Black and Minority Ethnic
communities, those leaving care and young people at risk of offending and
people at risk of homelessness. Many in these groups are missing out on the
opportunities of the digital age.
The projects, part of the Welsh
Government’s Communities 2.0 digital inclusion programme, which is partly
funded by the European Union, will provide information and communications
technology (ICT) support and training to these groups. Communities 2.0 has
already helped 38,000 digitally excluded people to get online and gain new
skills.
The three new pilot projects
target some of our hardest to reach groups:
- One is aimed at Black and Ethnic
Minority groups and is led by BAWSO, a national organisation which primarily
supports vulnerable women, especially those at risk of domestic abuse. Staff in
a number of organisations who have the language skills and understand the
cultural needs of each group will work with client groups directly to raise
their skills and understanding of the internet.
- The second pilot is a
contribution to an existing partnership ‘Symud Ymlaen’, which works
with young care leavers and young people at risk of offending. The pilot
element addresses the digital skills of those young people. The partnership is
led by Llamau, a registered charity working in Wales to improve the lives of
socially excluded, homeless people. They also work with 16 to 18 year old
school leavers not in education or training and young offenders, to enable them
to undertake a six month paid, supported work placement. The Communities 2.0
contribution will focus on the importance of digital skills in the workplace
and developing those skills to enable access to formal qualification
courses.
- The third project,
‘Complex Lives’ will address digital inclusion issues for people at
risk of homelessness. It brings together four organisations working in this
area, the Wallich, Llamau, Gwalia and Pennaf Housing - all of whom have a track
record of working with vulnerable and homeless people across large areas of
Wales.
Minster for Communities and
Tackling Poverty, Jeff Cuthbert said:
“Getting hard to reach
groups online is essential. More and more services are available online,
including those provided by the public sector. We must make sure that everyone
has the opportunity to benefit from this new way of delivering
services.
“People on low incomes,
older and disabled people and those who are not directly engaged with society
for various reasons often find themselves excluded because of lack of internet
skills and access. This means they can miss out on money advice, jobs and
training opportunities, discounts on essential services and even result in them
feeling excluded from their own communities. That is why these projects, backed
by funding from the European Union, are so important.”
Cathryn Marcus, Communities 2.0
Project Director commented:
“Communities 2.0 is
delighted to be able to support specific, targeted interventions aimed at
including some of the hardest to reach members of our community. These projects
utilise partnership and co-operative approaches to deliver key skills and
support to people who can benefit from it most. Digital technologies open the
door to so much these days – now’s the time to get online –
and we’re here to help”.
Links
Digital
inclusion