A council estate in Newham LBC has been building community spirit through the use of a digital TV and Internet service provided by their local council.
Residents of the Carpenters Estate in Stratford have been piloting RegenTV for the past two years, accessing community services, digital TV, and the Internet through their existing TV sets. Such has been the success of the project that 500 out of 700 residents have been using it.
Following the successful pilot, Newham Council is building a new version of the system designed to be cheaper to run and implement. It plans to reduce the number of operating systems that RegenTV runs on from 18 to one single Linux system.
Deputy head of ICT for Newham, Geoff Connell, expects that the new version, which he believes to be the first of its kind, will cost the council about £500,000. There are plans to extend the system, with the help of IT supplier IBM, across Newham and an estate in Tower Hamlets has already been earmarked.
"It's a very important point that this is an e-government service," Connell said. "It's crucial that it's not seen just as a council thing but something related directly to the residents themselves."
"e-Democracy and e-participation are very important council initiatives, and what we are doing here is going for a soft approach with e-channels."
He said the initiative involves a variety of organisations, including some from the voluntary sector, but people on the [council] estate are "key to the process". He claimed that the service had helped neighbours to get to know each other better.
Elements of the programme have included 'meet the neighbours' videos. People have a short video made about whatever they want to talk about.
"Another example is films made about things that have been going wrong in the locale," Connell said. "People made a video about blocks of flats that were in a real state nearby and they campaigned to get things done."
"Everything is viewed over a Web-delivered channel known as IPTV. What's also really useful is that as part of the process people build up their IT skills and knowledge. Children use the same system when they are at school and then come home and can use it to do projects for their homework."
As the system is rolled out users will be able to access a wide range of interactive services. These will include local community TV, interactive advice channels, Freeview TV, PC applications, council information, online services, the Internet and email, self-help and ICT learning channels.
Talkback
Excellent, if it gets people interacting with the government that's brilliant. I can see residents, even the young knowing who to talk to i.e. their MP or a specific MP, starting to campaign and change things.
Feedback from people who would otherwise not have been interested should throw up exciting ideas and hopefully solutions.
Samuel