City of London Gets Online
On Friday 23rd October the City of London’s Everybody Online project celebrated Get Online Day at the Portsoken Community Centre.
This national event, run in association with UK Online centres, provides opportunities for people who have never used the internet before to take their first steps with using computers and the internet.
Over 50 City of London residents of all ages took part in Get Online Day internet taster activities, which were provided by a range of partners including City of London libraries, Tower Hamlets PCT, RSVP and the City STEP Project. These activities included signing up for a new email account, playing the Get Online Day GoldRush quiz, exploring the Times and Mirror newspaper online archive sites and finding out how to access employment opportunities and health information online.
Four residents who entered the City of London-themed digital photography competition won prizes for their photographs, with pictures of the sun rising over Mansell Street estate, a resident’s Mansell street garden, and a photograph of residents’ balconies at the Golden Lane estate. The photograph that won first prize pictured the photographer’s bicycle against a backdrop of the London Wall.
The Get Online Day event was part of BIS' Learning Revolution Festival, a month-long celebration of learning for pleasure. The City’ Everybody Online project won a special Festival grant from BIS aimed at recruiting a network of volunteers to provide ICT support to residents at the event and to continue to ‘Pass IT On’ and take part in other volunteering opportunities.