Launch of 20 Disability Group websites
Thank you for your warm welcome - and can I say I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to be here this evening – to see at first hand the fruits of your labour – to present certificates to the participants – and, indeed, to launch these new websites.
This project - funded under our 2005 e-Inclusion Fund - is a perfect example of how local communities – how people who have an interest in the development of the communities in which they live – how they can bring the benefits of the Knowledge Society to all of those who make up the community.
I would like to congratulate all those involved for their hard work and enthusiasm during the project – a project which shows both the commitment and vision of the South Tipperary Community and Voluntary Forum – and, indeed, the enthusiasm - of those who participated in the project to learn – to explore how the tremendous potential of technology - can be used as a lever for positive change and development.
eInclusion
As Minister for the Information Society – can I say that I - and, indeed, the Irish Government - are committed to ensuring that late adopters of technology are given the opportunity to participate in the Knowledge Society. Clearly, there is little point in talking and waxing about a Knowledge Society - if each and every one of us does not feel included – or has not got the basics to allow us to include ourselves.
And when we speak about e-Inclusion – we are not just talking about access to the equipment itself. We are also trying to ensure that people are comfortable using it – that they have the skills to plug in and switch on – and they have a reason to make them want to do it in the first place.
That, of course, means having content that is relevant to them and accessible by them. Content – or the stuff that is available using the Internet – from e-mail to shopping – from booking flights and hotels to getting valuable life-style help and assistance – is essential as a creator of demand – as an enticement for people to participate more fully in the information age.
Of course, it is not possible to come up with the specific content – the products and services and other facilities – it’s not possible to cater for each and every person. But it is possible to help community-based groups that in turn can cater to the needs of their members or constituents.
This is why it is important that community groups - such as yourselves here in Tipperary - who are working very much at grass roots in society – who are in the best position to gauge the temperature – to listen – and to articulate the needs of your communities in the context of the conditions and circumstances that impact on your community – that is why it is so important that you are helped in this way. That is why it is important that you are enabled to champion the use of ICTs.
In 2005 the Government made a fund of €1.025m available to do just that. 48 projects - including this project in Tipperary - were funded. The projects in 2005 were mainly for older people - and people with disabilities - both of which – I am happy to say - were covered with this project – a project which was about increasing awareness and relevance of technologies - using relevant content – while promoting ICT skills development.
Mobahile
In the wider context of community access and the digital divide - we have, of course, the very innovative Mobhaile project – which is currently being piloted in seven local authority areas – including, of course, here in South Tipperary.
Mobhaile helps to build ICT capacity in the C&V (Community & Voluntary) sector - by helping community groups to set themselves up online in the first instance - and then giving them the wherewithall to communicate with their own members – along with other interested parties and citizens - using websites, hosted intranets, secure e-mail and SMS gateways – or, in plain mans language – text facilities on your mobile phones! [It used to be that we’d made up if we had cattle grids – now, it seems, you’re nobody if you haven’t got an ‘SMS Gateway’! – welcome to the information society!!]
The main benefit of Mobhaile is that it allows groups to work together – to share information and facilities – to create locally derived content - and allows participants to include themselves - by engaging with issues and activities of interest to them.
I am interested – and, indeed, delighted - to see that the South Tipperary Disability Groups Forum project has used Mobhaile to provide a programme for training disability groups in the area – and to create and maintain websites for each group.
I was also delighted to see that - while it was expected that from 10 to12 groups would apply for training - you currently have 21 groups setting up and building their own websites. This, I think, is a measure of the perception of the usefulness of the project – and a reflection of the fact that people want to engage – they want to participate in this new era of on-line communities – where the barriers of time, location and personal circumstance can be so easily overcome.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that technology has a significant and exciting role to play in tackling exclusion – in improving peoples’ quality of life – in improving economic performance – and in promoting greater social engagement and participation.
As more and more people regularly use ICTs in their activities, people who lack access to these tools are at a growing disadvantage. The challenge for us is to ensure that all of society has equal access to the power of technology and to the benefits and opportunities it can offer.
Once again, I have great pleasure in presenting these certificates and launching these websites. I heartily congratulate everyone here on their achievement in bringing the benefits of the Information Age to the people of Tipperary.
Ends.
Clonmel, Friday 12 May at 7pm