Policy Context and Legal Framework

WiN offers people identity, empowerment and networking. It offers e-skills improvement which can contribute to employability. On a neighbourhood scale it offers intercultural contacts, social cohesion and a sense of belonging which contributes to the level of participation in activities and in political discussions. WiN can have effect on all domains of life.

Implementation and Management Approach

WiN is implemented per neighbourhood (around 10.000-20.000 inhabitants) and in order to implement it successfully the following is required: - a place and computers, where people can descend, meet and work, - workers which are or can be trained to be animators (social professionals with a special media education), - payment for extra development of the approach. (The amount depends on the number of inhabitants). In neighbourhoods WiN does not work with ICT teachers or ICT programmers to contact inhabitants, but with social professionals who are skilled in supporting people and stimulating networks. The WiN approach has been developed in five years. The approach is described but not in detail, since every location has specific demands of its own and the implementation has to be custom-made. The concept has also to keep up with the growth in ICT use and skills of people and the opportunities new technology can offer. Developing the concept, tuning it to the location and organising exchange between projects is done by the national board in close co-operation with the local projects. The national board of WiN has plans for expansion and is looking for partners to be able to scale up to more neighbourhoods.

Technology solution

To go beyond the process of handling computers and internet one needs simple software, so everyone can make content and use computers and Internet strategically for his own purposes. WiN developed a web based application, which everyone can handle. Neighbourhood portals are often made by ICT programmers. The software of WiN is based on suggestions of visitors and the knowledge of professional social software programmers. To stay in tune with new developments every six month new modules are added. The last module is My Portfolio online, where people can start an activity and invite people to join. If people have joined they receive ‘compliments’ on their profile. It is meant to offer some self reflection on the value of voluntary work and it is related to formal competencies used by companies and Social Services. It is not easy to develop software which people use for daily purposes in neighbourhoods. The dynamics of Web 2.0 on a world scale are totally different from the dynamics in a local environment. E.g. Blogs are very popular on the world wide web, but seldom a success in a local community. Therefore special design for effective systems in neighbourhoods is needed.

Impact

WiN is used for sharing information (text and photo’s in web magazines), communication with others (guest books, fora, links) and for organizational purposes: agenda, map and manuals with the publication of tasks and deadlines. Users tell us they feel more competent, they learn new things and get to know new people and new networks, and organizing becomes much easier. The idea about their neighbourhood changes sometime to the worse, but that does not seem to matter: it is more their place, it supports their feeling of belonging and pride. It is innovative to make people media wiser and to teach them how to use ICT strategically to their own benefit. To stimulate them to use web pages to create networks and participation in the context of neighbourhood even more. In Parkwijk Almere (4.500 households) in one year 663 webpages were built by 300 people. In four years in Bargeres, Emmen (4.300 households) 4.500 webpages were built and 1.500 people logged in. The WiN portals are visited by approximately 1.400 visitors a month. The Digirooms are visited by many citizens (in Emmen 2.900 people in 2006). 60% of them is without a job, 50% women, 14% handicapped. They are of all ages.

Track record of sharing

The project started in 2002 in Bargeres, Emmen, after a year it was implemented in The Hague, in 2004 it was implemented in Almere and then more neighbourhoods in Emmen followed. At present there are pilots in Amsterdam and Gouda. A national organization was founded to monitor the dissemination. Methods were developed and contacts with universities (in The Hague, Amsterdam) established which led to the implementation of the subject Social use of ICT in the curriculum of social workers. WiN has contacts in Italy, Spain, Sweden, England, Latvia. It founded Vit@l Society, a consortium which made a declaration on the new social use of the internet. This was supported e.g. the Nordic Council and the Baltic IT&T Conference 2006. It was addressed to the E-Inclusion Unit and handed over to Mr. Paul Timmers in Riga (2006). In 2008 the local initiatives in Emmen and The Hague will be embedded in the local structures with the help of social institutions and the local government. The other neighbourhoods are still in the implementation phase. In 2007 the national organization of WiN made a business plan in 2007 to be able to disseminate. There are plans for localization of the software to implement it in other countries, to publish a book on the method in spring 2008.

Lessons learnt

Lesson 1 - Workers in the social sector are not interested in computers and internet for their clients. The helpers are keeping the clients away from internet applications because they think it is not what they need. This is a hard lesson to learn. The workers can be persuaded to use the internet, bur that takes time and constant effort. Lesson 2 - In The Netherlands local social initiatives are about helping the underprivileged. WiN is community building between all citizens with a bottom-up approach including underprivileged. It is much harder then the initiators thought to interest these institutions and workers to work for all and stimulate people caring for each other. Lesson 3 - Making community software for a neighbourhood in a way that people respond is a special expertise. It asks for special design.