NCVO: Isle of Wight organisation wins ICT award for promoting accessibility

The Riverside Centre, a social firm from the Isle of Wight, has scooped an award at the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Hub Awards today. Riverside, which provides accessible learning and social activities for disabled and non-disabled people within a supportive environment, won the Best use of ICT Accessibility award.

The third Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Hub Awards ‘Using Technology to achieve more", were announced at the ICT Hub 2008 National Conference and recognised the ICT achievements of voluntary and community organisations over the past year.

The Riverside Centre puts IT and communication at the centre of their work. The Centre offers a comprehensive programme of services to all users, from basic IT sessions to enabling ‘silver surfers’ to contact distant friend and relatives. The Riverside Centre provides CV preparation sessions for Job Club members and learning support for NVQ and Learn Direct sessions. Users include people with a learning disability and/or sensory loss and the Centre has helped a range of people to gain new skills, from keeping IT diaries to accessing training and employment opportunities.

Richard Priest from the Riverside Centre said:

‘The Riverside Centre is delighted to receive this award, recognising the quality of learning provided and our commitment to ensuring accessibility in all that we do. We believe that communication and ICT is the gateway to empowerment and enablement, and working with organisations such as the ICT Hub and Ability Net has helped us ensure that our increasing number of users have access to high quality equipment and learning opportunities’

Nicola Thompson, Head of the ICT Hub, said:

“Organisations such as Riverside must be recognised and rewarded for the inspirational way they use ICT to help others achieve more and make a difference to the people and communities they serve. The ICT Hub awards celebrate the brilliant work that these organisations do and showcase the winning organisations as beacons of best practice.”

Other categories and winners included:

Most innovative use of ICT

Winner: St Anne’s Community Services

Commended: Disabled Living Foundation

Delivering social or environmental benefits through ICT

Winner: Get Connected

Commended: Coalfield Forum

Special Award: individual contribution to ICT in the voluntary sector

Winner: Dean Thomas, Disabled Parents Network

Commended: David Bailes, Chorlton Workshop

The ICT Hub 2008 National Conference is a one day event is designed to help organisations with an income less then £1m make the most of their technology by, encouraging networking and the opportunity for people share experiences. It is aimed at small and medium sized organisations that deliver services directly to people but need some encouragement and guidance in their use of technology.

Workshops are designed for differing levels of knowledge of ICT and suitable for voluntary organisations at all stages http://www.icthub.org.uk/ICT_Hub_Awards or http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/

The ICT Hubs 2008 National Awards was held at Kensington Town Hall, London, W8 7NX between 10.00am and 4:30pm on Tuesday 11th March 2008.

For further information please contact NCVO Media Officer, Joy Coker on 0207 529 2469 or email press.temp@ncvo-vol.org.uk


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Notes to editors:

The ICT Hub is part of ChangeUp, the Capacity Building and Infrastructure Framework for the Voluntary and Community sector, created by the Home Office in June 2004. It aims to effect practical changes in the way that voluntary and community organisations use and benefit from ICT. The Hub will do this by: raising awareness of the benefits of ICT amongst voluntary and community organisations, improving the ICT funding and procurement environment within which voluntary organisations operate, and providing them with ICT support and resources at a local level.

· The ICT Hub is a Changeup initiative, whose aim is to improve voluntary and community sector (VCS) ICT infrastructure so that voluntary and community sector organisations (VCOs) are enabled to achieve their missions more efficiently and effectively through the better use of ICT. It is a coalition of 30 organisations. There are five members of the ICT hub steering group; 25 advisory group members; 3 identified delivery partners and at least 15 partners identified to collaborate with in the implementation phase. The five members of the ICT hub steering group are: AbilityNet, IT4Communities, LASA, NAVCA and NCVO.

· The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) www.ncvo-vol.org.uk is the umbrella body for the voluntary sector in England, with sister councils in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. NCVO has over 5,500 members, ranging from large national bodies to community groups, volunteer centres, and development agencies working at a local level. With over 280,000 staff and over 13 million volunteers working for our members, we represent and support almost half the voluntary sector workforce.

* Capacity building is about ensuring that organisations have the skills, knowledge, structures and resources to realise their full potential