A scheme to encourage more residents to get online has celebrated its first anniversary.
Get Caerphilly Online and Caerphilly County Borough Council’s ‘Digital Fridays’ is an initiative where people can attend free computer drop-in sessions at libraries to learn how to use the internet effectively.
The digital initiative is primarily aimed at beginners, and in its first year Digital Fridays has helped around 650 people.
Digital Fridays are held at Blackwood and Risca Libraries between 10am and 3pm, Bargoed and Newbridge Libraries between 10am and 1pm and New Tredegar Library between 2pm and 4pm.
From January 10, the scheme will also be running at Caerphilly town’s new library at the Twyn.
Cllr Rhianon Passmore, Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and Lifelong Learning, said: “The Digital Fridays initiative has been excellent in encouraging people to improve their basic computer and internet use. It’s fantastic to see that hundreds of residents across the county borough have visited their local libraries to take advantage of this support and the other services on offer at their local libraries.”
Angharad Dalton, Communities 2.0 Outreach Officer who leads Digital Fridays in Caerphilly Library, added: “It’s fair to say that Digital Fridays have been a huge hit here in Caerphilly county borough, but this would not have been possible without our staff and a band of dedicated volunteers.
“Some of our volunteers have given over 300 hours of their own time to supporting and helping others – an incredible effort for which we are all very grateful. The team are looking forward to developing Digital Fridays in the New Year and helping more people in our communities get online.”
Get Caerphilly Online is a partnership between Caerphilly Borough Council and Get IT Together – a nationwide digital inclusion programme run by Citizens Online and supported by BT and a variety of local partners.
For more information about Get Caerphilly Online, contact Matthew Lloyd of Communities 2.0 on 02920 556192, 07766 495617 or by email matthew.lloyd@walescooperative.org. Alternatively you can visit the website www.getcaerphillyonline.org.uk.