Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

A project that has helped more than 4,000 Carmarthenshire people get to grips with computer technology is celebrating its successes over the last five years. An event was held at the Mountain Gate on Ammanford Road, Ammanford to look at the achievements of Communities 2.0 and what the future holds when the project finishes in March. Communities 2.0 is a Welsh Government programme which is delivered by four partner organisations – the Wales Co-operative Centre, Pembrokeshire Association of Voluntary Services, Carmarthenshire County Council and the George Ewart Evans Centre for Storytelling at the University of South Wales. Much of the funding for Communities 2.0 has come from the European Regional Development Fund. The programme initially worked in the Convergence area of Wales, breaking down barriers to engagement with technologies. Now it supports initiatives and projects across Wales . Communities 2.0 also supports new and existing enterprises to use ICT to improve performance,...

Volunteers are needed to take their computer skills out into the community. They are wanted to work alongside Carmarthenshire County Council’s Digital Inclusion Team, which is working on the Communities 2.0 project to promote the use of digital technology. Volunteer John Moran explains why he became a volunteer and what he sees as the benefits. He said: “I retired a few months ago and was looking for something to do. I’ve always been interested in computers and find the volunteering very enjoyable”. ”I live in Ammanford and help deliver computer courses for Ammanford Job Centre Plus. I also take groups of people through the BBC’s First Click course at the local library.” It’s very satisfying to see people who hadn’t used computers before going away at the end of the course with the skills and confidence to take advantage of the numerous benefits available to them online.” If you’d enjoy teaching people to use computers, please call Chris Burton or Wynne Evans on 01554 752355 ...

Communities First Pantyffynnon has just embarked upon an exciting digital project which will capture stories from community members for generations to come. Teaming up with the Communities 2.0 project, professionals from the George Ewart Evans Centre for storytelling will be helping volunteers record their life stories, and experiences during World War II. Paula Treharne, chair of the Communities First Pantyffynnon Partnership said: “This is a very exciting opportunity for us and those who are keen to tell their stories, or get to grips with digital technology. “It is an innovative way of using the latest equipment to preserve our history and heritage of the past.” The first sessions are underway, and are being hosted in the Ammanford Pensioner’s Hall where volunteers will be learning how to make the stories from scratch and putting them together for an official screening at the beginning of December. The sessions are running every Thursday from 2pm until December 2 and residents are w...