BT Gets Welsh Communities Online
Award scheme gives community groups the chance to move into the digital world
BT has launched a new round of its BT Community Connections (BTCC) award scheme to help people get online in Wales and One Voice Wales has been asked to help judge the applications.
Community and charitable groups, including community and town councils, are being invited to apply for BTCC Awards, which include a laptop and a year’s broadband internet connection. Groups can also apply together for a BTCC Cluster Award to each receive additional packages of IT equipment.
Whilst the internet has become a crucial aspect of daily life for the majority*, many people are still missing out on the opportunities to email, network, find training, secure a job and access vital services provided by the web. About a third of all people in the country are considered to be ‘digitally excluded’.
BT believes that enhanced communications help create a fairer, more inclusive society where everybody has the opportunity to participate, benefit and contribute. The award scheme enables groups already working within communities to get online and experience the benefits of the internet, helping them to build capacity and encourage their members to support each other in their own digital journeys.
To apply simply log on to www.btcommunityconnections.com or write to PO Box 6919, London W1A 8UX to request an application form.
Beth Courtier, head of BT’s charity programme, said: “BT Community Connections remains a key element of our strategy to help people take full advantage of the huge benefits offered by the internet. In today’s digital world, exclusion from the internet has become a key facet of social exclusion. We are very proud to be at the forefront of empowering local communities, by providing these highly successful awards across the whole of the UK.
“We are constantly learning, refining and enhancing the scheme and are delighted to announce the addition of the new cluster awards. These are to encourage further networking and knowledge transfer within the voluntary sector.”
* Currently 33% of people in the UK are considered digitally excluded, having no obtainable access to a computer or the internet. BT’s Sustainability Report 2008: Inclusive Society
