Citizens Online's Partners
Citizens Online is delighted to be working with a variety of organisations to deliver a variety of crucial digital inclusion programmes. We have asked each our key partners to comment on their work with us:
AOL
AOL supports a number of voluntary sector projects in the UK that serve to widen access to the internet for disadvantaged groups. In 2006, the company is providing community investment support to six charities: Age Concern, Citizens Online, Fairbridge, John Grooms, Mencap and NCH.
The annual AOL Innovation in the Community Awards, which AOL runs in association with Citizens Online, is a major element of the company's community investment programme in the UK. The awards encourage innovative use of the internet among community groups and charities, with 30 awards of £2,000 available each year. Winning projects in 2006 included an organic online farm shop, screen reading tutorials for blind and partially-sighted people, and a birdcam project at a children's charity.
AOL has also been the online media partner for the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), National Giving Week, Community Service Volunteers (CSV), the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) and Silver Surfer Week.
http://info.aol.co.uk/about/community/
BT
BT believes that access to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) can improve people's lives, opening doors to education, jobs, entertainment and personal contacts. But many people are digitally excluded, having neither the opportunity nor the necessary skills to use the technology.
We believe that a long term solution to digital exclusion can only be achieved through working in partnership with industry, government and the voluntary sector.
This is the reason that we have been working with Citizens Online since 2002 when we created a new joint project aimed at bringing digital inclusion to communities – ‘EverybodyOnline’.
EverybodyOnline is one component of BT's Digital Inclusion campaign, more can be found on our BT's CSR web site and report at
Microsoft
Microsoft has worked in partnership with Citizens Online for the past 3 years through Microsoft's Unlimited Potential programme. Unlimited Potential is focused on improving lifelong learning for disadvantaged people and provides access to IT training and skills. Together through our partnership with Citizens Online, we aim to tackle the issue of Digital Exclusion so that everyone can experience the benefits of the Internet.
Microsoft and Citizens Online have initiated an annual award scheme, the Microsoft Community Learning Awards (MCLA). The awards aim to support UK community groups and charities in helping disadvantaged people learn about information technology by providing them with funding, software donations and IT training curriculum materials.
The MCLA provides grass-roots support to community run and community based IT skills projects across the UK.
In 2004, Microsoft proudly supported Citizens Online and was a founding member of the Alliance for Digital Inclusion (ADI). ADI promotes social inclusion and allows its members to collaborate with Government, Industry and the Voluntary Sector to tackle Digital Exclusion.
www.microsoft.com/uk/community
