News

The City of Boroondara is supporting the Think Women for Local Government Project by hosting a free forum for women who are considering running for council or supporting a woman to become a councillor on Wednesday 28 March 2012 at 7pm at Council Offices in Camberwell.

The Victorian Local Governance Association (VLGA) has received Victorian Government funding to lead a state-wide project entitled – Think Women for Local Government 2012.

In the 2008 election, 25% of wards had no women candidates. The VLGA’s project aims to increase the numbers of wards with women candidates from 75% to 90%, and increase the diversity among women candidates.

The forum will provide an opportunity for potential candidates and their supporters to meet, hear from women councillors about their experiences and seek practical advice about becoming an elected Councillor or supporting other women standing for election.

This is a regional forum for the eastern metropolitan region.

Come to the Think Women for Local Government forum hosted by the City of Boroondara for the whole eastern metropolitan region.
A panel of women councillors including:
o Cr Coral Ross, City of Boroondara
o Cr Stefanie Perri, Mayor, City of Monash
o Cr Rachel Powning, Mayor, City of Port Phillip

facilitated by:
o Liana Thompson, a former Mayor and Councillor,
now Manager Governance and Compliance at
Baw Baw Shire Council
will encourage the panel to:
o share their experiences
o offer practical advice
o provide useful resources.

A light supper will be provided.
When
Wednesday 28 March 2012
Time
7pm to 9.15pm
Where
Council offices, Boroondara Room
8 Inglesby Road, Camberwell

RSVP essential
by Monday 26 March to Beth Klein
Phone: 9278 4475
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

New mobile phone App launched for events information in Victoria

Information Victoria has just launched VicEvents – a mobile phone app for iPhone and Android phones that will allow you to easily browse, search for and locate events happening throughout Victoria.

Key features of the VicEvents App include the ability to:
•  search for an event, browse for events, or even shake phone to view a random event
•  submit your event to be listed
•  filter events by date, location and category
•  share events with others via email, Twitter and Facebook
•  integrate event information with your phone’s GPS, map and calendar

The 'VicEvents' App is free to download, and can be downloaded from the ‘App Store’ if you have an iPhone, or ‘Market’ if you have an Android phone.

Thinking of upgrading your smartphone? Infoexchange Australia are seeking donations of early generation iPhones, iPads and other devices for use in low income communities. The program is looking at using a wifi mesh network across housing estates. If you have an old device looking for a good home you can put it in a post bag and address to: WiFi Project. Infoxchange Australia, 375 Johnston Street, Abbotsford, Victoria 3067.

Visit Infoxchange Australia.

The Community ICT Skills Grants Round 2 support community organisations to increase the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in disadvantaged communities. For more information, click here.

Applications close 21st October  2011

Celebrate Diversity and Inclusion Week and International Day of Disability at the State Library of Victoria.  The Library will host two free events for IT Enables: Life, Choice and Participation:

• Friday 25 November 2011 - A Professional Development Conference
• Saturday 26 November 2011 - A Family Fun Day

More information and bookings.

Celebrating CALD Senior Surfers

A special celebration was held in the State Library of Victoria on 18 May to acknowledge the successful completion of the CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse) Senior Surfers program. Sue Hamilton, Acting CEO and State Librarian, presented certificates to the eleven community organisations who participated in Round 2 of the program:

 

• Australian Multicultural Community Services
• East African Women’s Foundation
• Federation of Chinese Associations Victoria
• Hampton Park Community House
• Keysborough Learning Centre
• Migrant Resource Centre North West
• New Hope Foundation
• Russian Ethnic Representative Council
• Spanish Latin American Welfare Centre
• San Marco in Lamis Circolo Pensionati
• Victorian Arabic Social Services.

 

CALD Senior Surfers brought computers to places where seniors gather and helped community organisations train seniors in their own language. In the past year, over 500 seniors received computer and Internet training, with lessons conducted in Arabic, Somali, Polish, Italian, Hindi, Russian, Hebrew, Chinese, Yiddish, Turkish, Greek, Italian and Spanish. The training was delivered by 51 dedicated trainers, many of them volunteers, and many of them seniors themselves.

 

CALD Senior Surfers reaffirmed that the Internet is not just about finding information, banking or shopping – it’s about social connections and bridging the gap between generations. One of the most frequent comments Vicnet heard was that seniors felt left out of the online conversation taking place between their children and grandchildren. Becoming part of the online conversation has brought a great deal of joy through sharing of family photos, sending emails, or simply saying ‘Hello’ on Facebook.

 

The program was funded by the Victorian Government and supported by members of the CALD Senior Surfers Reference Group:

• Department of Planning and Community Development (Community ICT)
• Office for Senior Victorians
• Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria
• Victorian Multicultural Commission.

 

If you think social media tools like Facebook fan pages and Twitter accounts are only useful to the marketing efforts of business and big brands, think again - they're also powerful tools for promoting the activities of clubs, community groups and not-for-profit organisations.

When we talk about "social media", what do we mean? One way to think of social media is as a two-way street. Traditional media, like print, radio, and TV, are one-way channels that push out information to people; social media allows those people to communicate back.

Wikipedia defines social media as "the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into interactive dialogue". And isn't that what community is all about? Any group, any club, any organisation exists because of people. And there's never been a better time to allow those people the opportunity to have a dialogue; to express their ideas and opinions via the internet.

Vicnet's new training workbooks!

Following the success of our introductory Easy English computer and Internet training workbooks, Vicnet has released six new workbooks in the series:

• Skype
• Online radio
• Working with pictures
• Google Maps, Google Earth and Google Images
• YouTube
• Websites in my language
  

 A free expo exploring ways technology can be used to benefit the lives of people with a disability was held on Thursday 2 December 2010 at the State Library of Victoria to celebrate International Day of People with Disability The event was hosted by Vicnet on behalf of the ICT Disability Working Group and showcased information for the public and presentations for professionals working in the field.

 

The theme for the day was set by Ricky Buchanan’s ‘Computers and the Internet set me free!’ DVD which illustrated the importance of assistive technology. Ricky interacts day-to-day with life via her computer as she lives with a disability where she is mostly bedridden. Graeme Innes, Disability and Race Discrimination Commissioner, delivered a key note address which covered the fundamental rights of persons with disabilities, particularly in the context of assistive technology.

 

Created for the 2010 Victorian state election, Vote Victoria is a simple application that combines VEC information with GPS data to help users find their closest voting centres.

Victorians unsure on where to vote can use the application to find their 10 closest voting centres including opening times and linking to Google maps for directions to the centre of their choice.

Live counting will be available from 6pm on election day (November 27) using real-time VEC information. To find out more and to download the app, visit Victoria Online.