MAKING IRELAND CLICK
Ireland is in the middle of a revolution, a digital revolution that is transforming every aspect of our daily lives. Technology has connected people in ways we couldn’t have imagine even 30 years ago. It has changed the way we learn, the way we shop, the way we work and even just the way we talk to our friends and family.
Making Ireland Click is a campaigning four-part series, guided by Ireland’s Digital Champion, David Puttnam, as we explore the need for every citizen to be digitally literate. David’s aim is to encourage all citizens to do more with and embrace on-line technology in the way we live our lives at home, at work and in the way we educate the current and future generations.
David Puttnam believes society is now moving so fast with regards to technology, that if we don’t get on that train and get involved, we’re going to be left behind. The National Broadband Plan is in motion, trying to get everybody on-line and now selected towns all over Ireland are being piped with incredibly fast broadband. But what’s the point if people aren’t using it? Or don’t even know what to do with it?
This landmark series for RTÉ One will examine how this island on the edge of Europe is answering these questions. While spending time with David Puttnam, Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh – whose new best friend is his laptop, with teachers, elderly groups, students, families and small businesses, we get to closely examine the challenges and success stories that are driving this discussion.
Each of the four episodes handles a major theme; from the efforts being made to bring the huge non-liner community into the digital world, to the use of new technology in our education system, and from the changes it brings to daily family life to the impact of the introduction of high speed broadband to David Puttnam’s home town of Skibbereen and how it has become a blueprint for rural regeneration that can be shared with other towns around Ireland and abroad.
A Wildfire Films production for RTÉ One, made with the BAI Sound & Vision Fund.
EPISODE ONE: THE FIRST CLICK
Monday 31st October @ 19.30 on RTÉ One
In this first episode we will meet those that are called the non-liners, people who haven’t fully dipped their toes into the online world.
Technology is transforming even the most mundane aspects of our daily lives. It’s the little things that can make our day so much easier. At the tip of our fingers we can pay our bills, book tickets, buy anything, learn or just keep in touch. With the assistance of David Puttnam, Ireland’s Digital Champion, we meet some of the 300,000 people who are missing out and are shirking the benefits that being on-line can bring.
We spend time with legendary 85 year-old broadcaster Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh as he encourages elderly colleagues to embrace new technology in the Third Age Center in Co. Meath. Micheál is very fond of his laptop “I regard the computer as my best friend. Always there and never complains…”
We meet the wonderful 85 year old, Marie O’Gorman, from Walkinstown in Dublin: “I’m afraid of nothing, not even men! The first few emails, I didn’t know how to open them, I was thick, but then I got in on it…”
A former winner of a Silver Surfer award, Marie has two computers and has made them part of her busy life. She gets an entertaining visit from 5th year student Lauren Russell, who shows her how to film a baking session to put up on YouTube.
We visit Carrick-on-Shannon and look at the increased pressure to bank on-line, which is a daunting and frightening challenge for some elderly people who lack computer skills. Finally some Irish banks are cottoning onto this and we attend a Tea and Teach learning session in the local bank branch
We spend time with Transition Year students in Dominican College in Dublin as they teach members of Age Action about computer skills. We witness lovely interaction between both generations. Moireen Taggart from Age Action; “A lot of people will tell you that they’re terrified, some are afraid that they’re going to break the internet.”
David Puttnam visits the Men’s Shed in Rialto, Dublin 8 and observes as shed leaders take part in a Virtual Community College class run by An Cosán. We witness an inspiring way for men to re-connect with education away from a class room setting as shed leaders from across the country take part in this on-line class. Stephen from Armagh Men’s Shed: “A lot of us haven’t been in school for a long time and I thought the ground was going to open up and swallow me because I was so afraid of the digital course, but now we’re loving it.”
More Information
On the accompanying website, www.makingirelandclick.ie, there are over 100 resources aimed at those who want to get started online, and those already online who want to do more. The site also features the stories of some of Ireland’s citizens who have taken the first click, including legendary Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh, in a series of online-only mini-documentaries, and provides background information for each TV episode and the themes of the series.
Join the conversation on social media where Making Ireland Click are sharing online learning resources, related events, previewing each episode, and promoting digital inclusion across all sectors of society. Social media users are being encouraged to #havethetalk with someone close to them, to teach a digital skill to others.
Follow on Twitter @IrelandClicks and Facebook /makingirelandclick