Watch this space

Digital inclusion project wins national ICT industry award

Infoxchange Australia, in partnership with the Victorian Government Neighbourhood Renewal program and ThoughtWorks Australia, were crowned winners of the national Community iAward at a Gala Ceremony in Melbourne this week.
The Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) iAwards are Australia's leading industry awards for the information and communication technology sector. Infoxchange shared the top honour in the Community category for its involvement in the Wired Community @ Collingwood project, the largest digital inclusion project in Australia to date, working to increase computer literacy and internet access amongst residents of Collingwood’s public housing estate.
Andrew Mahar, Executive Director of Infoxchange Australia says that the partnership with ThoughtWorks during the project demonstrated a strong collaborative effort and helped to deliver a valuable community need in the Wired@Collingwood site.
"Having genuinely affordable internet access for all, especially the socially and economically disadvantaged in the 21st century, is a fundamental infrastructure requirement of any civil and democratic society espousing equal opportunity, equality and a fair go,” says Mr Mahar.
“Recognition by the peak industry association, AIIA, and the partnership with forward thinking businesses like Thoughtworks have greatly assisted Infoxchange with it's work and provided opportunity for over 2000 people to participate in the digital world." Infoxchange and the Wired@Collingwood project partners will now represent Australia at the Asia Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) Awards in December, as part of the Asia Pacific Digital Innovation Summit.

Infoxchange General Manager Natalie Collins & ThoughtWorks representative speaking at the iAwards ceremony.

Women in IT

Information technology is an industry renowned for having trouble attracting women into its workforce. Infoxchange Australia is proud to employ a number of women in managerial positions, who are responsible for spearheading technology and project initiatives to assist the delivery of essential services and help disadvantaged members of the community.

"There is tremendous opportunity that technology can bring to the lives of people and communities," says Dinna Tayao, Manager of Infoxchange's Grassroots Networking Unit, which implements projects to improve the circumstances of communities through access to technology. "I have always wanted to be part of the evolution of technology and its ability to change and affect the way we live."

A brief look back on 2008

As we approach the festive season, it's an appropriate time for all of us to reflect on our achievements in 2008. At Infoxchange Australia, as we celebrate our 20th anniversary, we made 2008 the year of 'digital inclusion', meaning all Australians have a fundamental right to access and utilise information and communications technologies to participate in a socially inclusive society.

This year, with government, corporate and community sector assistance, Infoxchange launched its largest digital inclusion project yet, 'Wired Community@Collingwood', providing computers, internet access and training to residents of 1000 households at the Collingwood Public Housing Estate. 'Parent Connect' wired 100 households of families from Glen Orden Primary School in Melbourne's west, while Green PC supplied affordable computer and training packages to families with a child in the 'Learning for Life' program, in partnership with The Smith Family.

Impact of the global financial crisis on the provision of social services in Australia.

A growing number of social welfare agencies are expressing their concern about the impact of the global financial crisis on the provision of social services in Australia. A coalition of church welfare agencies have commissioned an Access Economics discussion paper on the topic, which states demand for services, already operating beyond capacity in a prolonged period of economic growth, is certain to rise further.

"Low-income households and Australia's disadvantaged will be directly impacted by slowing economic growth as rising unemployment together with continued pressure on housing costs — and the cost of living more generally — increase the incidence of financial and social stress," the discussion paper states. "As a consequence, the demands on the nation’s already overstretched social services sector will significantly increase."