Electronic Precinct - July 1999

Global award for information technology

A community information programme designed with the help of the University to improve Council services and make the benefits of information technology available to the people of Knowsley, has won a global competition run by the City of Stockholm.

The Knowsley Community Information Programme (www.knowsley.gov.uk), a collaboration between Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council and Connect, the Internet Centre for Merseyside Businesses at the University, was declared the winner of the Public Services and Democracy category of the Global Bangema nn Challenge at a ceremony in Stockholm on Wednesday 9 June.

One of 18 winners, and the only one from the UK, the Knowsley Community Information Programme is designed to improve Council services and make the benefits of information technology available to every citizen of Knowsley.

In the next twelve months Knowsley will install 900 PCs in schools and libraries throughout the Borough. Many of the PCs have Internet connections and e-mail facilities which will be available to the public free of charge. Many of the libraries will have support staff on hand to provide guidance f or new users. The Borough's Telematics Centre in the Business Resource Centre at Kirkby will provide support for small businesses. Connect and Knowsley Borough Council together provided four of the UK's eleven finalists in the Global Bangemann Challenge.

The two Knowsley projects which reached the final were the Knowsley Community Information Programme and Merseyside Adapt 2000 (adapt.connect.org.uk), an EC-funded programme which is helping 350 Merseyside companies to use new technology to become more profitable. Connect (www.connect.org.uk) contri buted technical, design and project management skills to both of these projects.

The two Connect projects which reached the final were: Merseyworld (www.merseyworld.com), a regional website with information about over 2000 Merseyside based organisations, and Internet Express, a roving Internet access facility which visits some of the poorest areas of the region for several wee ks at a time.

Colin Charlton, Director of Connect, said: 'We are pleased for Knowsley because they won in the face of world-wide competition of the highest quality. We are pleased for Connect because we made a significant contribution to the two Knowsley projects, and because two of our own projects reached the final. We are pleased for the region because 10 of the 11 British finalists came from the North.'

The Global Bangemann Challenge is organised by the City of Stockholm. 458 projects from 217 cities and regions in 56 countries were evaluated by an international jury.