Silwood Estate in Lewisham is home to one of South London's
best Cyber Centres and it is proving to be very popular with
local residents.
With free learning for up to 25 people at a time, Silwood's
UK Online Centre is equipped with 18 computers, a plasma screen,
interactive board and mini studio facilities. There are a
variety of courses on offer including a ground breaking scheme
to train people who want to become PC support workers and
another designed specifically for Mums to brush up on their
IT skills whilst their children are at the nursery next door.
The Silwood centre is specifically targeted towards those in the
local community who need help with basic skills, including lone
parents, people from ethnic communities, the unemployed, those with
disabilities and over 60's who are not already involved in learning
activities. Project Manager Maggie Gebbet says:
'We see our centre as a launch pad to IT for local people. Our
learning programmes are very popular. Some days we are overflowing
with people on learning programmes. Informal learning opportunities
on the local doorstep are definitely the way to reach adults who
have maybe missed out on some aspects of learning earlier in life'.
Simon Hughes MP presents awards at the
Silwood Cyber Centre
The centre is just one example of the Government's UK Online
initiative to spread the use of the Internet to all communities,
which is proving a great success. Working with the New Opportunities
Fund the Government Office for London UK Online team has allocated
£38 million to 167 projects, establishing nearly 350
centres in London, ranging from small community groups to
large charities and local authorities.
Around 1000 local people are expected to benefit from the
centre over the next year. Silwood was recently awarded the
UK Online Regional 'Best Centre' award for its excellent user
support and its innovative marketing strategy - using a 'Getting
Mobile' computer training bus to visit the estate and raise
the profile of the centre.
Further Information
For more information on other UK Online projects in London contact
