Connecting Women to Technology
Information and Cultural Exchange’s (ICE) Community Information Technology Program recently showcased the achievements of its grass-roots Connect OUT project at Granville Youth and Community Recreation Centre on 7 November.
Twenty women from across Parramatta and Holroyd areas participated in Connect OUT, most of whom were first-time computer users. “I learned how to open a laptop, how to plug it in, how to write, how to save, how to do everything!” said local Naraini Reddy.
Participants of the Digital Storytelling Workshop
Connect OUT, a pilot project supported by Holroyd Community Development Support Expenditure (CDSE) Scheme and Parramatta Leagues Club, took technology and hands-on skills workshops out to isolated groups in Holroyd and Parramatta – particularly to women who have only arrived in Australia recently.
Vicki Wilde, Manager of Hewitt House Neighbourhood Centre and Project participant Renee Pitel
“Many women, particularly stay-at-home mothers, grandparents, carers of children, and women with limited English language skills, find it difficult to access computer training. So we used our mobile IT kits to take the training to them,” said ICE Director Lena Nahlous.
Women used the laptops to learn basic computer programs, as well as to create digital stories that expressed their experiences of settlement in Australia.
Project Partner Terrie Gardner, The Parramatta College Principal
Connect OUT became a critical link for participants into the successful 2007 Women Work Together project, a partnership between The Parramatta College and ICE. Women Work Together is a longer program for women which provides IT, employment and training skills.
For more information contact Liliana on 9897 5744 ext 9 or
communityinfo@ice.org.au
ICE’s Community Information Technology Program receives core support from the NSW Department of Community Services
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