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UK online centre projects to demonstrate social impact of ICT
Thousands of socially excluded people will get the chance to change their lives and reconnect with their communities by connecting with ICT, thanks to 20 new projects to be run by UK online centres across England.
The projects will support the areas identified in last year's Social Exclusion Action Plan - families in poverty, teenage parents, adults with mental illnesses and those supporting children in care. Some projects will also support older people, who form a significant proportion of those at both a social and digital disadvantage.
UK online centres were encouraged to bid for their share in the £2million of Social Impact Demonstrators grant funding, provided by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). The top 20 projects were picked by a panel of judges, including private and voluntary sector stakeholders.
Heading up the panel was Helen Milner, Managing Director of UK online centres. She said: "We were looking for projects which demonstrated creative use of ICT and innovation in engaging with key audiences. The winning bids are all designed to make a deep impact on specific groups, getting some of the hardest to reach people online for the first time, learning new skills, connecting with their communities and interacting with public services.
"The projects will explore the links between social and digital exclusion, and how ICT and the skills to use it can benefit individuals, families, communities and society itself. I'm excited about the potential of these projects to make a real difference to people's lives, and a difference to how we look at and address digital and social exclusion in the future."
More than 150 UK online centres will be involved in delivering the 20 projects. Each project will receive up to £100,000, and run for between six and 15 months. Some will help disadvantaged people with free or loaned home computers and internet access - others are using blogs, video diaries and digital media to collect stories and record how ICT can change lives. From outreach activities to community websites, the successful projects will all bring together local voluntary and community organisations to engage and support the people they're targeting.
One of the successful bids came from the Harold Tomlins Centre in Chester, run by Chester Aid to the Homeless (CATH). Chief Executive Robert Bisset explained: "The Social Impact Demonstrators funding will help us embed ICT into the work we already do to support homeless people. The project will see the introduction of a new 'Living and Learning' programme which will target older homeless people and those clients with mental health problems, and which will have technology at its heart.
"The fact is computers are key to everyday life now - in terms of employment and even communication. An email account is a real lifeline if you don't have a fixed address, and we've found ICT can be a real 'hook' for people. Once they're in front of a monitor, we'll introduce different elements of the programme, including living strategies and job skills, courses and qualifications. We'll also integrate housing services and work or volunteer experience by building on existing partnerships with the council and with local businesses.
"At CATH, we work with some very vulnerable and troubled people, for whom homelessness is often just one of many problems. Our job is to help them progress their lives - finding confidence, stability, accommodation and work. I'm excited about the potential of this project to help even more people make that journey."
Helen concluded: "Like Robert, I believe ICT really does have the potential to offer people new opportunities and new choices. I also believe UK online centres have a role to play in ensuring socially excluded people are able to take advantage of them. The results of these projects will help us demonstrate the clear link between social and digital exclusion, and help shape future activity to ensure we're reaching those who need us most."
Ends
For more information on UK online centres and the Social Impact Demonstrators projects, please contact Abi Stevens on 0790 987 5890.
Notes to editors
UK online centres engage with adults who have low or no skills in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), or who do not have access to ICT at home or at work.
FTC launches crackdown on work-at-home scams
US consumer rights organisation the Federal Trade Commission has joined up with law enforcement agencies to launch a crackdown on bogus job opportunity scams.
Project FAL$E HOPE$ encompasses 100 law enforcement actions against various bogus work-at-home scams. The bogus business opportunities targeted include vending machines, ATM and Internet terminals, display racks for coffee and ink cartridges, Internet-based businesses, envelope stuffing, medical billing, and others.
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Is An Online Degree Right for You?
(ARA) - With the ever-changing job market and increasing competition for stable, well-paying jobs, more and more adults are seeking additional education to help them in their current professions or to prepare them for a career change. For people who are working full time, online learning, sometimes referred to as distance learning, can be a great choice. Taking courses online enables you to pursue an advanced degree without sacrificing the time you spend with your family or the momentum you have in a career track. Online programs allow learners to take courses when it's convenient for them. Without set classroom time, learners can work on assignments from home, the office, or on the road -- as long as they have access to e-mail and the Internet.The practicality and convenience of online learning has helped it become a popular choice among busy adults.
After 13 years, will she finally get to teach?
She fled Iran in 1989 after government officials harassed her for discussing the right to free expression with her high-school literature students, her lawyers say. They fired her, threatened her life and later refused to release her professional documentation, court documents allege.
She hoped Canada, the country that gave her refugee status, would afford her the chance to again practice her craft -- only to be stonewalled by the Ontario College of Teachers, which, paradoxically, insisted on seeing the documents the Iranians withheld.
But after a 13-year uphill battle, the tide may be turning for Ms. Siadat.
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Lawmakers due back in Jackson Tuesday
Vicksburg's legislative delegation may be asked again this year to push for an increase in the monthly surcharge tacked onto cell phone bills to pay for 911 dispatch services.Supervisors have said an additional $1.50 to $2 is needed to pay for operating the center, now funded by $1 per line charges for cell and residential lines and a $2 charge per business lines.The last time any of the charges was increased was 2001, when residential rates were raised from 80 cents and business lines were raised from $1.66.As with the 2006 request by Warren County officials, opposition is expected from anti-tax advocates in the Legislature, plus Gov. Haley Barbour.Another issue needing resolution is whether the state Public Service Commission would allow different counties to impose different 911 fees.
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Adults with developmental disabilities have the choice of living in a private home
CASPER, - The three Johns may seem like typical bachelors hanging out in their Casper apartment.John Jamie Robinson, Johnie Richmond and John Pintello all cook dinner together, talk about their day and sit on the couch for a few hours watching football and playing video games. But they have a stronger tie than average roommates do.Robinson, Richmond and Pintello live together in a family environment as part of a residential host family program with Circle C Resources, one of two Casper agencies and just three or four in the state that offer the program, according to the Wyoming Department of Health.The state would like to see more Wyoming agencies and families participate so more adults with developmental disabilities can have the choice of living in a private home, in addition to the choice of living in a group home, their family home or what was historically the only option, life in an institutional setting.
California: Transportation, Labor and Safety
There continues to be legislative interest in helping farm workers, with several bills introduced to provide more benefits or to tighten labor laws in agriculture. Sarah Reyes (D-Fresno) proposed $472 million in new programs to assist farm workers, with $202 million for health programs, including the creation of 10 new rural health clinics and another $108 million for Migrant Education. Reyes would also establish a $50 million "Cesar Chavez Tax Rebate for Farmworkers," which would provide a $100 state income tax rebate per farm worker "in lieu of a paid state holiday," starting in 2001.
Transportation. The farm-labor contractor who employed the 13 workers killed in August 1999 when the van they were riding in struck a tomato truck making a U-turn was fined $21,500 for a series of problems with the van.
