Whanganui is closing in on reaching Digital Nirvana first!

WOW – Whanganui has so much enthusiasm for using the digital highway.  Our Ultrafast FibreTech Ex weekend on 20 to 22 July was so successful and it was way beyond the best I’d hoped for before.  Being there most of the 3 days, plus before and after was a chance to live and breathe all the latest tech stuff, plus bond and engage with the community and the exhibitors.

We had a strong presence with a CIH/KiwiSkills stand in the exhibitor’s hall.  It was so cool to work with Sarah Lee, the local CIH team, Whanganui Learning Centre people, plus lots of others.

A personal Ultrafast FibreTech Ex special for me was having CIH people from other regions visit.  Tim, Sarah and Chris from Porirua came up for the whole 3 days, and it was neat to see Chris from Taranaki, Peter and the others from Wairarapa, and the Wellywood/Kapiti Coast team.

Other personal highlights for Ultrafast FibreTechEx were seeing the speaker’s programme being sponsored by the 2020 Communications Trust including the final talks by 2020 Chair, Laurence Millar about the opportunities for New Zealand in the global digital economy and Don Christie, from Catalyst.
The first public viewing of the new Computers in Homes DVD at Ultrafast Fibre Tech Ex on Sunday 22 July was a huge moment of pride and a heart grabbing experience.  This is a 50 minute archive of digital stories about Computers in Homes captured by Barbara Craig and Howard Taylor.  They have crafted a fantastic series of interviews and pictures of who we are and what we do.  As this becomes more widely distributed and more people see it, I am sure it will open many doors for us and be a huge tool to channel more support to scale up CIH and for other appropriate digital initiatives!   There will be links to versions able to viewed online soon and I will publish these as a special blog in the near future ;)

Press links
http://www.wanganuichronicle.co.nz/news/technology-creates-a-buzz/1474826/
http://www.wanganui.govt.nz/news/showNews.asp?id=2222
Photo links
https://picasaweb.google.com/101909744705360752679/UltrafastFibreTechEx2012Whanganui
https://picasaweb.google.com/101909744705360752679/TechExSunday22July2012

As if this wasn’t enough, the following week two more amazing things happened to propel our seat on the digital juggernaut:

Our Computers in Homes class at the Born and Raised Pasifika Centre, Aramoho had their graduation celebration on 27 July. The Pasifika way sure has plenty going for it.  We should all see how successful it is for each generation to learn and play together using computers and the internet as the vehicle.  It is no surprise to see some of the  fanau from the Born and Raised Pasifika Centre being used in a poster for ACE Aotearoa’s Adult Learners' Week/He Tangata Mātauranga in September.  Congratulations to Hellen PuhiPuhi and all the B&RPC team for leading the way.   What a fabulous class this one was.  It was the 5th we’ve run at B&RPC since 2010.

Photos link
https://picasaweb.google.com/101909744705360752679/BornAndRaisedPasifikaCIHGraduation27Jul12

We held the launch of the Y2Y(Yes to Youth) AKE AKE CTC (Community Technology Centre) on 25 July.  This is going to be a fabulous resource and asset for the Castlecliff community to use.  Y2Y people have worked hard with us to make it happen and it is great to see this open.

Press link
http://www.wanganui.govt.nz/news/showNews.asp?id=2223
Photos Link
https://picasaweb.google.com/101909744705360752679/Y2YAKEAKECTCOpening26July2012