Boost your digital skills through local history project
05/09/2022
Free digital skills training is now available to people in Oldham, thanks to a cash boost from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Get involved and help spread the word!
The sessions will help people get online and develop new skills based on their current needs and are part of a local history project called The Towers: A history of Summervale and Crossbank.
The name references the 1970s ageing tower blocks that we demolished earlier this year.
On the vacated site, we are now bringing forward our exemplar West Vale affordable housing development. We are also investing in existing local homes and carrying out a range of environmental improvements as the new-build scheme progresses.
The Towers: A history of Summervale and Crossbank project is being jointly led by us together with community group OL1, Oldham Council, Oldham Coliseum and Geeks for Social Change.
The partners received £54,685 funding from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and National Lottery, distributed by the Heritage Fund UK as part of their Digital Skills for Heritage initiative.
The digital skills training course will be delivered at Barker Street Community Centre and is open to people from the Oldham borough at all levels of ability – from those who haven’t started their digital journey but want to get online, to beginners who need to build their confidence and skills, and those who want to take their next step with website development and management.
Danny Isherwood, our Project and Partnership Officer said:
“We’ve started our development to build more new affordable homes in the place where the tower blocks stood, but we don’t want to forget the history and people that have made this such a vibrant neighbourhood.
“Community development and digital inclusion are central to The Towers project. So far, we have focused on building an archive of stories about life in the area and these are helping us create a historical snapshot for future generations.
“Now we want to develop the digital skills of local people, whatever their previous experience. The course will be linked to the history of the tower blocks and Coldhurst, but the content will be designed around what people want to learn. From setting up an email address, searching online and accessing services, right through to designing websites. There will be something for everyone who wants to get involved. It's a very exciting stage in the project and I can’t wait to get started.”
Get involved
For more details and to register your interest in the digital skills training, please email our Stronger Communities team at ci@fcho.co.uk.
Learn more
To find out more about The Towers: A history of Summervale and Crossbank project, visit the dedicated website www.oldhamdigitalhistory.co.uk.
