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The Runnymede (Golden Dog) Computer Group from Norwich 
“Ranging in age from 60 to 80-plus, members of the Runnymede computer club are mostly residents of three sheltered housing schemes in Norwich. They got together when one of their neighbours donated her computer to the sheltered housing complex for communal use and they wanted some training: that’s when these older learners took up the challenge of Age Concern Norfolk’s Into IT Course.
Two years on, members of the group have continued to support each other, contribute to the costs involved in being on-line, worked actively towards finding tuition to match the diversity amongst them and locate extra tuition. The group has grown and members now pass their skills, knowledge and enthusiasm on to new tenants and members of the local community.
 
As nominator Richard Symon explains, ‘Previous problems [like] isolation and indifference have disappeared within the housing scheme. Friendship with people from the surrounding schemes and neighbourhood have been formed and, as a direct result of the training, laptops were on several students’ Christmas lists. The training has given people the confidence to search the internet, set up their own webcam – giving them the ability to chat to friends and family worldwide, discover family histories [and] save money by comparing utilities, goods and services… The training has brought people closer, with a sense of achievement, community and renewed confidence. Additionally, it has encouraged people to take up further ‘formal’ education, proving that education can be for everyone regardless of perceived barriers’”.
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