Supporting Our Community to Bridge the Digital Divide
Have you been wondering what we’ve been up to with our Be Connected Program? Since November we’ve been training community members and high school students to become Digital Mentors!
Through our Community and Intergenerational Digital Exchange program we trained 24 community members and 60 high school students to become Digital Mentors and they have gone on to support people over 50 in their community or family to build important digital skills.
Through our Community and Intergenerational Digital Exchange program we trained 24 community members and 60 high school students to become Digital Mentors and they have gone on to support people over 50 in their community or family to build important digital skills.
In total, our Mentors invested 133 hours of their time training and supporting 82 community members, bringing digital literacy learning and support safely into the community. We recently celebrated with an awards event acknowledging their positive work and involvement helping others and making a big difference in our community. We're very proud of our mentors and we've had a blast working with them! This program was made possible through funding support from the Good Things Foundation as part of the Australian Government Be Connected Program.
If you or a high school you know of would like to get involved in future rounds of the program express your interest by contacting Grace at programs@theplacecharlestown.org.au or on (02) 4032 5500.
Read more about this program in our Newcastle Weekly article here
Facilitated by People With Disability Australia (PWDA)
The Place is proud to be the first community organisation in NSW to take part in the NSW Device Bank Pilot Program, supporting more people in our community to get connected and build confidence online. Through the program, we helped allocate 30 refurbished laptops to local people in our community, including seniors, carers, people with disability and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Participants receive 12 months of free data, digital skills training and IT Support to help them make the most of their device. Delivered by NSW Telco Authority in partnership with WorkVentures and Good Things Australia, the NSW Device Bank Pilot Program is part of the NSW Government’s Digital Inclusion Strategy. The program helps bridge the digital divide by giving people access to the essential technology, connectivity and support needed in today’s digital world. We’re incredibly grateful for this opportunity for our local community and want to thank everyone who made it possible.
