Amble is expanding its credentials as a centre for skills improvement as it launches a new digital hub for the area.
The new Amble Digital Media Hub has been established by the Amble Development Trust, with support from Northumberland County Council.
A series of fun, free, digital media taster sessions and creative workshops will be held in Amble over the course of the next year, to help people improve their digital skills and encourage them to use their own technology in more creative ways. Project manager Anna Williams said “We are so pleased to be able to offer these digital media workshops to help people be more creative with their smartphones or tablets. Sometimes we get so used to seeing what other people have created, it’s refreshing to have the opportunity to be creative ourselves. “The workshops will generally last around an hour or hour and a half, and will be held on weekdays, some evenings, and some half-term afternoons in Fourways2 in Amble. Some sessions will be aimed at the whole family, so everyone can learn and have fun together.”
Northumberland County Council’s iNorthumberland digital team wants to support communities across the county in a drive to improve skills and expand the use of new technology.
Local Northumberland County Councillor Jeff Watson said: “As an authority we are committed to ensuring that everyone can learn, work and access all the services they need using digital connectivity and skills.
“As well as ensuring the best connectivity through the roll-out of high-speed broadband this means helping communities and residents to make the best use of this through courses such as these.
“Amble is an excellent example of a community that is embracing this challenge, and the county council also wants to work with other communities across Northumberland to help them gain similar benefits.”
The free workshops in Amble will cover subjects such as photography and editing, film making, coding, buying and selling online, digital music-making and wordpress. They will start in March and you can find out more on The Ambler website here: http://bit.ly/2EQgDbF
The digital hub work has initially been funded from the members small schemes budget of former county councillor Robert Arckless and Northumberland County Council is also looking to agree grant funding to the hub for future work.
This initiative follows on from a very successful Code Club which has been running in Amble since 2016. Young people in the area have been learning the basics of computer programming after a successful funding bid helped purchase new IT equipment to set the club up. iNorthumberland, part of Northumberland County Council’s digital team, has been supporting the introduction of over 30 Code Clubs in the county as part of their digital inclusion work, working in close collaboration with Code Club UK and Raspberry Pi Foundation.