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I often get asked about how web based community engagement technologies can be managed so that they don’t exclude those members of the community on the other side of the digital divide… older people, socially disadvantaged people, culturally and linguistically diverse group etc.
I have written about this issue elsewhere on this blog but thought it worth a quick note about a conversation that came out of group discussion on Monday afternoon. I was giving a general briefing about web 2.0 tools and how they might each be applied to the community engagement task when a lively discussion ensued about older people and the net. The question was put to the group, how do we make sure that older people without access to the internet in their home or the necessary knowledge or skills to use the internet are not excluded by web 2.0 as an engagement strategy. We talked about capacity building processes, hiring internet cafes, setting up project specific “drop in” internet cafes, giving away computers… and a gentleman from Telstra provided a brief overview of program it runs called “Telstra Connected Seniors“.
I’m not hear to plug Telstra or any other telecommunications provider… BUT, this looks like a pretty good program to me. There are lots of learning resources for individuals but of more interest to me are the grants it provides for community groups to run educational classes. This is a great model for capacity building within an excluded and potentially disadvantaged target segment of the community. It is also a great way to link project engagement objectives with a broader social responsibility goal. These classes don’t need to be run or funded by Telstra of course, they could be written in to the communications, community engagement and place-making budgets of projects funded by government or the private sector.
Take a look…
Telstra Connected Seniors® is a tailored program created to help older Australians learn more about technology. It offers individual self teach guides, fun interactive workshops, and also offers eligible community groups with the opportunity of funding to run successful training courses around technology.
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