County’s online campaign celebrates success in linking people to the net

The Get Monmouthshire Online Partnership will celebrate its campaign to link people to the internet at an event to be held at Monmouth Library at 9.30am on Thursday, November 20th. Get Monmouthshire Online brings together the county council’s community learning and library services, Communities 2.0, Monmouthshire Housing Association, MCC Housing, Melin Homes, Charter Housing and Job Centre Plus. As a result of the partnership’s work, people have learnt how to access the internet to make contact with family and friends, pay bills and shop online as well as registering for Universal JobMatch and job applications online.

The campaign has particularly benefited groups like the elderly, unemployed and those terrified by information technology. It has tackled social imbalance by teaching people excluded from the digital age to use social media, engage with online communities and gain access to the online job market and benefits. In addition, people have gained the ability to get the most out of housing association websites, buy online, access the skills needed to build a CV, write letters of application or complaint and use online budgeting tools.

The county council’s cabinet member with responsibility for citizen engagement and customer access, Councillor Phil Hobson said:

“Through the Get Monmouthshire Online initiative, the county’s community learning service, housing associations, JobCentre Plus and our libraries have been able to work together to help our communities become part of the digital movement. These days more and more services are primarily accessed online and this project has assisted the county’s residents to join social media so that they can make contact with their friends and families living in other areas or even abroad, raising awareness of free computer access within our communities and giving support in small and friendly groups.”

The Get Monmouthshire Online Partnership benefits from funding by the Welsh Government’s digital inclusion programme Communities 2.0 - a Welsh Government programme which is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund. For more information, contact Amanda Dell – amandadell@monmouthshire.gov.uk – or telephone 07760 990456.