Digital inclusion conference is a big hit.
The Wales Co-operative Centre recently co-hosted the inaugural ‘Digital Inclusion Wales’ conference with the Welsh Assembly Government. The event was attended by 170 people, the majority of whom were representatives of projects that have received funding from Communities @One – the Welsh Assembly Government digital inclusion initiative which is administered by the Centre.
The event was also attended by representatives of the European Commission and Government offices in England and Northern Ireland.
The day’s keynote address was delivered by Deputy Minister for Regeneration Leighton Andrews, with other presentations from Communities @One project manager Alun Burge, Sharon Morris of the Rhondda Cynon Taff Community Radio project and Stephen Harmes of the River Dee Community Church ICT project.
The Deputy Minister announced during his speech that the Welsh Assembly Government has committed funding to cover the core staff of Communities @One within the Wales Co-operative Centre for a further three months – to the end of September 2008. Assembly Government officials will also look at the potential for extending funding for some of the projects to the end of September, subject to achieving clear additional outputs.
During the course of the conference, a series of workshops was held, including three sessions on ICT-based Social Enterprises featuring Julie Harris of Cosmic and Simon Berry of ruralnetUK. These sessions proved popular, with around half of all delegates learning more about the role Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) can play in the formation and development of social enterprises. This was particularly pleasing for conference organisers, as the development of social enterprises that harness the potential of technologies for economic outcomes is a central part of the planning for the second phase of Communities @One.
A number of Communities @One funded projects also took the opportunity to showcase their work with exhibition stands. Organisers received lots of positive feedback from those who took part.
