HP’s Newest Digital Community Centre Helps Bridge Belfast’s Digital Divide

HP will today open its Digital Community Centre (DCC) in Belfast, Ireland, improving access to technology in some of the city's most disadvantaged areas. The DCC will promote job-growth, community participation and entrepreneurship and is also set to encourage closer cooperation and understanding between all sides of the community in Northern Ireland.

Belfast is HP’s 12th   DCC and is part of an HP programme that aims to give some of the world’s underserved communities access to the power of technology by providing them with the infrastructure and tools for learning and development.

HP has already established DCC in France, Ghana, Hungary, Ireland, Jordan, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Senegal, South Africa and Ukraine. Some are spread across multiple sites, such as the one in Belfast, where four are involved.

Their common thread is that they provide members of the communities in which they are located with the opportunity to create self-sustainable improvements by showing them how Information and Communications Technology (ICT) can be used for a range of activities, from job-seeking to better management of community groups and even launching small businesses.

The projects target a wide range of population groups, including students, teachers, the unemployed and single parents. HP emphasizes the value of using ICT to accelerate enterprise and entrepreneurship, and thereby stimulate economic growth.

For example in France, HP set up a DCC in partnership with four communities in the Seine-St.-Denis area, to give vocational training in technology and help youth who are at risk of turning to crime find jobs. More than 3000 young people have been trained since the project began in 2002 and many of them found work at the nearby Charles de Gaulle airport.

In Dikhatole, South Africa, a place that does not even have paved roads, HP’s DCC has provided members of the poverty-stricken community with basic computer, Internet and business skills. In its four years of existence the centre has trained 1500 young people in various employment skills with around 70 percent finding work or apprenticeships in the formal sector as a result.

Each of HP’s DCCs reflect a high level of partnership between local government, business, public service organizations and HP, with each partner playing a key role by sharing expertise, resources and accountability. The goal is to reach longer-term sustainability with on-going funding from local government or other agencies. HP and its partners, as well as members of the community, work closely together to ensure that the impact of the DCC will be sustainable after three years of HP’s initial engagement.

Belfast is a city in transition and firmly looking to its future. Despite an improving political climate, years of sectarian tensions have left some areas in a state of socio-economic exclusion, marked by high levels of social housing and benefit dependency, above average unemployment rates and below average educational attainments. Many people living in these areas have not yet had the opportunity to experience how ICT can enhance their lives. HP has chosen four community centres located in such areas for inclusion in the ground breaking project: Dee Street Community Centre, The Hammer Centre, Upper Andersonstown Community Forum and the Short Strand Partnership.

The HP DCC, which is spread across multiple sites, provides local community groups with state of the art technology, classrooms and IT training that will benefit the residents in each of the communities. Each location has access to a wide range of multi-media technology, including computers, laser and colour printers, scanners, digital cameras and data projectors, all supplied by HP.

“Belfast is a city focussed on building the future rather than reflecting on the past. The initiative will help deliver some of the practical skills necessary to achieve a more prosperous future and encourage greater cross-community cooperation,” said Alistair McDonald, Regional Manager for HP in Northern Ireland. “All communities will be brought closer through shared projects, encouraging people to use technology in learning more about other communities and their beliefs, while building trust and confidence in each other. This dimension is a critical part of the project.”

In addition to technology and equipment, HP is providing funding for a full-time project manager for the first three years.  He will chair the Belfast-based steering group comprising representatives from each of the community groups, and ensure that the project reaches its objectives.

The Belfast DCC is part of a major Northern Ireland community-based education initiative. The project was instigated by Dr Martin McAleese, husband of the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese. Several Northern Ireland based organisations and Government bodies are involved including the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) which is facilitating a cross-Departmental approach that ensures backing is given through existing cross-community working programmes. Belfast City Council has agreed to host two of the computer suites in local community centres. Business partners include BT (Northern Ireland) who will provide Broadband Internet Access in all the computer centres, while covering the cost of the telephone access in each site for the first year. Microsoft has contributed to the initiative by providing software licenses for the technology. Prodigy Systems Ltd are assisting with training curricula, and Nitec Solutions Ltd are providing support services.

HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company’s offerings span IT infrastructure, global services, business and home computing, and imaging and printing. For the four fiscal quarters ended Oct. 31, 2005, HP revenue totaled $86.7 billion. More information about HP (NYSE, Nasdaq: HPQ) is available at www.hp.com.