HP and partners are tackling Belfast’s digital divide on the ground in neighbourhoods that are on the front lines of unemployment and sectarian strife. Designed to improve technology access in some of the city’s most disadvantaged areas, the newly opened Digital Community Centres will also encourage closer cooperation and understanding.
Digital Community Centres provide the tools for learning and competing in the digital economy to communities with the greatest need. The programme includes HP products, services and consulting.
HP has chosen four communities of the city for inclusion in the ground breaking project: Dee Street Community Centre, The Hammer Centre, Upper Andersonstown Community Forum and the Short Strand Community Centre.
Despite an improving political climate, 30 years of sectarian tension have left their mark. “Belfast is a city in transition with a focus on building the future rather than reflecting on the past. But years of strife have significantly reduced the opportunities for some people in these communities to develop both their education and employment prospects,” says Alistair McDonald, Regional Manager for HP in Northern Ireland.
The communities chosen are struggling with high unemployment, benefit dependency and low average levels of education. Social and economic hardships have had a debilitating knock-on effect, further reducing access to education.
Through the initiative, local community groups will be provided with state of the art technology, classrooms and IT training which will benefit the residents in each of the communities. Each location will have 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.
“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,” adds Alistair McDonald. “This dimension is a critical part of the project.”
The Digital Community Centres have been set up in collaboration with a network of partners. HP is providing funds to employ a full-time project manager for an initial two year contract. The manager will ensure the project reaches its objectives while also chairing the Belfast-based steering group with representatives from each of the community groups.
The project was initiated by Dr Martin McAleese, husband of the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese and several Northern Ireland-based organisations and Government bodies are involved in the project. The Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) is supporting the initiative and so are existing cross-community working programmes.
BT (Northern Ireland) 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. Through its agent, Prodigy, Microsoft has contributed software licenses. Belfast City Council has agreed to host two of the computer suites in local community centres.
HP, with a long tradition of community engagement in the 120 countries where it operates, believes that computer literacy can empower residents to make self-sustainable improvements in their lives.
HP participates in many programmes that are narrowing the gap between the information rich and information poor – both in Northern Ireland and abroad. HP is in the process of rolling out a project entitled Classroom 2000 (C2K) which will connect up to 350,000 users from 1,200 schools in Northern Ireland in an online Managed Learning Environment. Students will each have a computer, an e-mail address and online access to a variety of educational content via secure Internet links.
There are twelve HP Digital Community Centres located in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The Digital Community Centre in Dublin, initiated by the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) three years ago, is helping the city’s inner-city communities fulfil their aspirations for participation in the digital age. Ireland’s Information Society Commission suggested that the Digital Community Centre serve as a model for addressing the country’s digital divide.
“The establishment of the Digital Community Centres in Belfast will greatly improve access to technology, and in-turn, aid education, skill development and ultimately boost employment opportunities,” says Alistair McDonald. “In addition it will also help build confidence and trust within and between communities.”
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