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embargo: no embargo Liverpool joins GO ON Give an Hour campaign with unionlearn & Martha Lane Fox's Race Online 2012Liverpool is kicking off of the Go ON Give an Hour campaign with UK Digital Champion Martha Lane Fox's national Race Online 2012, unionlearn and partners from next week (from Oct 31st). Liverpool City Council, Liverpool Vision, local businesses, community organisations, unions and charities have launched an ambitious campaign to inspire 25,000 Liverpool residents who have never been on the internet to take their first steps online by June 2012. The Go ONit's Liverpool campaign kicks off with the Go ON Give an Hour weekend at Liverpool One shopping centre on the 29-30 October with a range of free IT taster events across the city from 31 October - 4 November (see attached events schedule). Go ON It's Liverpool aims to recruit 5,000 local digital champions to provide one to one support to the offline community across the City. Local and national partners are backing this campaign to reduce the digital divide by 25%. They will support local people to have the know-how to access all the benefits that online brings - improved employment opportunities; savings on household bills and improved opportunities for older people to stay in touch with family and friends. ? TalkTalk will be supporting Go ON It's Liverpool by offering 1,000 digitally excluded families in Liverpool a year's free internet access by working with local partners. TalkTalk staff will also encourage more people to get online as local Digital Champions. In addition, TalkTalk Business will be offering support for local Liverpool SMEs* to help them get online and make the most of the internet. ? Liverpool is the pilot for a Google outreach programme called Getting Liverpool Businesses Online, providing free workshops and one-to-one internet skills and website support consultations to encourage businesses to use the internet at its Juice Bar. Go ON It's Liverpool will kick off with a high profile recruitment drive to sign up a minimum of 5,000 digital champions to coincide with the BBC 'Give an Hour' campaign on the weekend of 29-30 October. When the clocks go back on the night of 29 October we will all be asked to give the extra hour we gain to give someone who has never used the internet, their first experience online. UK Digital Champion, Martha Lane Fox said: 'Digital know-how is now a fundamental life-skill - arguably as vital as knowing how to read and write. We believe there is both a moral and social case for sustained local assistance to help offline residents across the UK develop web skills. Four million of the 8.7 million adults in the UK who have never used the internet are society's most socially and economically disadvantaged. This is unacceptable especially when 90% of new jobs require IT skills, you're 25% more likely to get work when you know how to use the internet and once in work you'll earn 10% more.' Laura Robertson-Collins, senior union support officer from NW unionlearn said: 'Unionlearn is delighted to sponsor the launch of 'Go On It's Liverpool', which will mark the start of a six month campaign in the city to recruit 5,000 digital champions in order to help 25,000 people get online. The campaign will play a vital role in the city's programme of economic regeneration. ULRs are ideally placed to work as 'Digital Champions', as they are already working hard to help union members and other staff in the workplace and the wider community, to obtain the skills and confidence to use the internet to enhance their employment prospects, to make the most of learning opportunities and to improve their communications with family and friends.' Notes to Editors For more details about the events taking place to launch Go On It's Liverpool between 29th October and 4th November or to hold your own event or volunteer as a digital champion please visit the Go ON It's Liverpool Facebook group or call 0800 771234 to find a free beginners course near you. For more information on all events being held across Liverpool please go to www.raceonline2012.org/liverpool Call to action Become a Digital Champion Please pledge your hour at www.go-on.co.uk/giveanhour and get access to exciting ideas, info and offers from the many partners Race Online 2012 is working with on this campaign. Low cost hardware and connection Refurbished, under £100 refurbished computers are now available to help overcome cost as a barrier to getting connected. Visit http://champions.go-on.co.uk/ways-to-be-a-digital-champion/buy to see the latest computer and internet connection deals or call one of these providers to find out about the latest deals. Microsoft backed, Get online @ Home: Refurbished PCs with Win7. 03719 100 100 Remploy: Refurbished PCs with open source software. 08450 268293 PCXUK: Refurbished PCs with Win7. 08456 44 68 66 For more information please call: Oli Kelham, Race Online 2012 Press Office on 07968876150 or email oli@raceonline2012.org Currently 100,000 citizens of Liverpool are not enjoying the benefits of being online. Go ON It's Liverpool aims to unlock the interests of the offline community and encourage them to explore their interests online for the first time. A digital champion is someone who supports their family, friends, colleagues or customers to get all the benefits that the internet can bring. They can inspire people to take their first steps online by telling them about a site or service that matches their interests, showing them how to use the web, and helping people to gain internet access. If you'd like to access all the great things the internet can do for you, including staying in touch, renewing car tax online and finding health information, there are lots of friendly people who want to help you get started with computers and the internet. You can call freephone 0800 77 1234 to find a local, low-cost internet course, or why not ask a friend or family member who uses the internet to show you how? Tell them the website www.go-on.co.uk/champions has advice on how they can be your Digital Champion. As the UK's Digital Champion, Martha Lane Fox chairs the Race Online 2012 campaign and sits on the Cabinet Office's Efficiency and Reform Board. She is also non-executive director at Marks & Spencer, Channel 4 and MyDeco.com. In 1998, with Brent Hoberman, she founded lastminute.com, Europe's largest travel and leisure website. In 2000 they floated the business and Martha remained on the board until its sale. In 2005 she co-founded Lucky Voice, a karaoke business with five venues and a growing online business. In 2007 she launched a grant-giving foundation, Antigone. http://raceonline2012.org/go-on More than half of employers (55 per cent) say that their employees have improved their qualifications, thanks to union-led projects. Two-thirds said there had been a benefit to the organisation and eight in ten said there had been a benefit to individuals. Almost three quarters said that it increased the demand for learning among those with poor basic skills and 28 per cent said it had boosted the uptake of training for those with high-level skills. 'Assessing the impact of union learning and the Union Learning Fund: union and employer perspectives' can be read in full at http://lubswww2.leeds.ac.uk/CERIC/index.php?id=373 More than one million working people have been given training and learning opportunities via unionlearn. All unionlearn press releases can be found at www.unionlearn.org.uk Media enquiries: Press release (1,300 words) issued 24 Oct 2011  OECD report praises the unionlearn model Green fingers at the bullet factory Adult Learners Week was sweet success at Nestle, Dalston |
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