Dear Colleagues & Friends,
Welcome to our 26 th newsletter. The Semester break has just finished and we’re all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed keeping busy and warm to ward off the winter chills. A few new people have been added to this newsletter list. Please let us know if you no longer wish to receive it.
NORTH COAST COMPUTER PROJECT WINS NATIONAL ICT INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD
NCCP was awarded the Community ICT (Information & Communication Technologies) Innovator of the Year Award at the CISA Community Information Technology Awards in Adelaide on 14 May 2007. CISA (Community Information Strategies Australia) is sponsored by Microsoft and Cisco. This is a huge win and honour for us taking out this award in our rural area competing with the big cities. It is also our first award from the private sector. (See newspaper article at the end of this newsletter for more details).
2 ND YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF MACKSVILLE NCCP
On 8 th June we held our 2 nd year anniversary at Macksville NCCP attended by all the Hardware & Clients and Goorie IT students, and community members. Welcome to Country was given by North Coast Institute Aboriginal Coordinator Kevin Naden before NCCP Board member Sue Nash presented the program. Speeches were given by Federal member Luke Hartsuyker, North Coast Institute Director Elizabeth McGregor, Nambucca Shire Mayor George Hicks and Councillor Rhonda Hoban.
We want to thank everyone for the fantastic support we have received in Macksville from North Coast Institute, Nambucca Shire, Wesley Uniting Employment and Centrelink that has allowed us to successfully establish an NCCP satellite there. It is only with these community partnerships that any project can be successful and we want to push further ahead together to continue to bridge the digital divide in the Nambucca Shire.
In particular, a special thanks goes out to worker Mike Williamson who contributes so much of his personal time, and to TAFE head IT teacher Warwick Harman and my fellow IT teacher Aubrey Thompson for making the courses so successful down there.
VISIT TO DARWIN
On behalf of NCCP, Bernie visited Darwin 12 th -14 th June at the invitation of Australian Flexible Learning Framework’s Indigenous Engagement Project. A presentation was given at Charles Darwin University on “Engaging philanthropic organisations”. NCCP are enthusiastic to network as extensively as possible to help spread our successful formula for bringing technology to disadvantaged communities and we hope to have more to do up in the NT in the foreseeable future.
NEW PROJECT AT BOWRAVILLE
On 8 th August an exciting new project will take place at Bowraville Aboriginal Mission in the form of a part Certificate III Goorie IT funded through the Joint Indigenous Funding Pool.
This course is being run by North Coast Institute’s Aboriginal & Education Training Unit in partnership with NCCP and Bowraville Aboriginal Land Council. Part of the course aims to install computer technology and internet access in the local kindergarten so that it will be a well-used and valued community facility. We need more partners and support for this very special project to make it a success so please get behind us.
NCCP NEEDS COMPUTER HARDWARE
NCCP computer hardware stocks are getting VERY low and we would be VERY grateful if you can keep an eye out among your networks for any computer hardware that can be decommissioned to us. We accept anything above Pentium 3 level.
Keep Smiling