Dorset Council’s volunteer digital champion service is ten years old and to celebrate is holding a ‘get online’ roadshow. During national ‘Get Online’ week (16-20 October) the council’s volunteers will be manning stalls in Sherborne, Bridport, Wool and Wimborne and anyone needing help to navigate the digital world are urged to come along. The volunteer… Read more Ten years of getting Dorset online
A free training programme that has recruited an army of special advisors to help thousands of Dorset’s residents get online has scooped a prestigious national award. Dorset Council’s ‘Embedded Digital Champion’ initiative has won the acclaimed ‘Digital Skills’ title at the Connected Britain awards in London last night. The award recognises the feat of training… Read more Dorset Council digital skills training programme wins national award
A rural school has been transported onto the ultrafast broadband highway thanks to Dorset Council’s ‘Fibre Hub Connectivity in Rural Dorset’ project. Stalbridge Primary School, near Sturminster Newton, is one of dozens of rural schools and community buildings being connected to some of the fastest internet speeds in the country. The council was awarded funding… Read more Rural school transported from the country lane to the ultrafast highway
A Dorset company is pioneering a new technology that looks set to revolutionise cancer diagnosis and treatment. Dr Tom Wallace-Smith from Poole and Canada-based Talmon Firestone are the brains behind Astral Systems – the newest company to land on the Dorset Innovation Park in Winfrith. And with their patented Multi-State Fusion (MSF) Reactor they are… Read more Dorset company set to make waves in the world of nuclear medicine and cancer treatment
Organisations that work with Dorset’s young people are being urged to get their skates on and bid for funding that could help transform lives. They have until 14 June to get on board and be in with a chance of securing funding from Dorset Council. The Dorset Youth Fund helps groups and clubs make a… Read more Get your skates on and make a difference to young people’s lives
An inspiring leader who is helping to transform the lives of families and young people across Dorset has been shortlisted for a prestigious national award. Dorset Council’s Executive Director for Children’s Services, Theresa Leavy, is a finalist in the Municipal Journal’s (MJ) Achievement Awards. Theresa, who has worked at the council since 2020, has been… Read more ‘Loving’ Dorset Council director shortlisted for a national award
An international delegation from Colombia visited Dorset recently to learn how digital connectivity can revolutionise rural economies. The South American dignitaries were invited to meet Dorset Council and learn from the success of the ground-breaking £9m 5G RuralDorset project. The visit was organised by one of the 5G RuralDorset’s private sector partners, the Satellite Applications… Read more Colombian delegation visits Dorset to discover how digital connectivity can transform rural economies
Dorset Council is opening the doors to digital again thanks to an innovative and environmentally friendly way of raising funds for its digitally excluded residents. From now and until 2025, money raised from recycling old council laptops will be invested in the Digital Doorway scheme, which buys devices for people in need. This is expected… Read more Opening the doors to digital thanks to innovative £100,000 recycling scheme
Dorset’s future as a place to do digital business will be showcased when local companies and industry leaders come to the Festival of the Future. They will be speaking at the at the Dorset Innovation Park in Winfrith on Wednesday 12 October, when the festival highlights the career opportunities in the digital sector. The event… Read more Festival to show Dorset is a place to do digital business
A project to demonstrate how digital can make towns more ‘smart’ places to live and work has been tested in Weymouth. The results of the test will be unveiled at this year’s Festival of the Future, the annual event run by Dorset Council, with special guest and renowned urban designer Wayne Hemingway. Spearheaded by the… Read more Weymouth demonstrates what the future might look like
Families in Ferndown will discover how digital can benefit their lives at a special event being hosted by Dorset Council next month. The Festival of the Future will be coming to The Centre in Tricketts Cross on 11 October, when the focus will be on the family. Volunteer digital champions will be on hand to… Read more Families in Ferndown to find out about their digital futures
From self-driving tractors to 5G connected buoys, the future of the countryside will be put under the spotlight at Dorset Council’s Festival of the Future. The festival will launch on Monday 10 October at Kingston Maurward College in Dorchester when the focus will be on the innovation that’s set to revolutionise farming practices on land… Read more Festival to focus on the future of land management
Bridport residents and businesses can find out how digital technology can change their lives for the better at a special event next month. Dorset Council’s annual Festival of the Future will be in the town on 13 October to highlight the latest full fibre roll out plans in the area, the help available to get… Read more Bridport residents and businesses invited to discover the benefits of digital
Thousands of Dorset school children have taken part in the county’s first ever Coding Day. Organised by Dorset Council, BCP Council and Barclays Digital Eagles, Dorset Coding Day brought together 43 schools across the county, from Christchurch to Beaminster and from the north in Gillingham to the coast of Portland. In addition, 25 local tech… Read more Breaking the code to a successful digital future
A five-day festival will be staged at locations across Dorset next month to showcase the county’s exciting digital future. Dorset Council’s Festival of the Future is back for the third year running and it will be a hybrid event where people can attend in person or take part virtually. Held from 10-14 October, #FutureFest22 will… Read more Festival to showcase Dorset’s innovation and digital future
More than 7,000 Dorset homes and businesses will be the first in the country to receive next generation broadband through the government’s £5 billion Project Gigabit programme. The government has awarded the contract to Blandford-based Wessex Internet to deliver the roll-out which takes in parts of north and east Dorset. It is expected the first… Read more Thousands of Dorset premises to get future-proof broadband
The multi-award winning 5G RuralDorset project has won more national recognition for its internationally ground-breaking work. Led by Dorset Council, the government funded research programme won more plaudits when it was highly commended in the Local Government Chronicle (LGC) awards in the Future Places category. Since it was launched in 2020, the 5G team and… Read more Ground-breaking 5G RuralDorset project wins more national recognition
Schools, libraries and a visitor attraction in Dorset are set to be among the first in the country to benefit from next generation full-fibre broadband using the government’s £5 billion Project Gigabit funding. Dorset Council has been awarded nearly £900,000 to oversee the project and Blandford-based Wessex Internet has secured the contract to deliver the… Read more Dorset centres among the first to benefit from £5 billion Project Gigabit
A free training programme has been launched to recruit an army of special advisors who can help Dorset’s digitally excluded residents get online. Open to any organisation in Dorset which works directly with residents, the new programme will train people who can champion online services to their users and customers. Called the ‘Embedded Digital Champion’… Read more New training programme could help thousands more get online
A gift of a free smartphone and digital training during lockdown has totally transformed one Weymouth resident’s life. Ivon Peters, who is profoundly deaf, was given the smart phone from Dorset Council to help him feel less isolated during lockdown. The 55-year-old also received dedicated help and training from one of the council’s volunteer digital… Read more How digital transformed Ivon’s life
Dorset Council has been awarded £500,000 to spearhead a new pilot project to look at ways of boosting mobile digital coverage. Joining forces with partners Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Hampshire County councils, this new ‘Wessex Digital Infrastructure Accelerator’ scheme will examine how online mapping technology can help speed up the rollout of connectivity. The… Read more Dorset Council launches new project to help speed up mobile rollout
Fourteen Dorset libraries have begun an exciting new chapter after benefiting from some of the country’s fastest internet speeds. Thanks to £200,000 of government funding, these libraries – from Ferndown in the east to Bridport in the west, and from Swanage in the south to Blandford in the north – now have the fastest possible… Read more Exciting new chapter for libraries as they upgrade to gigabit-capable broadband
Dorset Council has been awarded £20,000 towards developing a pilot training programme for fibre engineers and help boost broadband provision in the county. Nationally 63% of premises now have gigabit capable broadband whereas in Dorset the figure is just 15%. One of the factors affecting this is a lack of fully trained fibre engineers. It is estimated in Dorset… Read more Engineering a solution to help bridge Dorset’s digital divide
Dorset Council’s Digital and Change team has received national acclaim after being highly commended in the Local Government Chronicle awards, in the ‘large team of the year’ category. The accolade recognised the support the team provided to local communities during the pandemic, including setting up the Dorset Digital Hotline. There was also praise for how… Read more Council’s digital and change service wins national praise
More people in Dorset can now access free technical advice thanks to the expansion of Dorset Council’s volunteer digital champion service. Since Covid restrictions were lifted, the council’s volunteer digital champions have gradually resumed their face-to-face advice sessions. From this autumn the volunteer champions are available, or will shortly be available, at 13 centres across… Read more Free digital advice service expands across Dorset
A five-day festival will be staged at locations across Dorset next month to showcase the county’s exciting digital future. Dorset Council’s Festival of the Future is back – and this time it’s a truly hybrid event where people can attend in person or take part virtually. Held from 4-8 October, #FutureFest21 will highlight the innovation… Read more Festival to showcase Dorset’s digital future
Dozens of adults in the Bournemouth area have been ‘Bourne again’ thanks to a life-changing digital training course. The Bourne Digital course was part of a pioneering national programme called Power Up, run by the Good Things Foundation charity and funded by JP Morgan. Locally, the project loaned devices and provided 12 weeks of training… Read more Bourne again – digital transforms people’s lives
Dorset Council and local parishes are calling for more national action to ensure the county’s most rural areas do not get left behind in the digital age. The authorities were responding to the government’s ‘call for evidence’ on how ‘very hard to reach’ areas cannot access good broadband. Although 96% of Dorset can get superfast… Read more Dorset calls for more government action to bring better broadband to remote rural areas
When profoundly Deaf Bridport resident John Phillips received a free smartphone from Dorset Council, he had no idea just how much it would transform his life. The 76-year-old received the gift on Christmas Eve, as part of the council’s drive to help digitally connect people in need during lockdown. By then John, whose only method… Read more Smartphone gift saves John from a lonely lockdown
Dozens of community buildings across rural north Dorset are to be connected to next generation, gigabit-capable broadband thanks to a Getting Building Fund allocation from Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). Now 60 community sites from Blandford to Sherborne; including schools, community centres, a health centre, council depots, farms and adult social care residential homes; will… Read more Community buildings to receive gigabit broadband thanks to investment from Dorset LEP and Dorset Council
