Get Online Week in Oxford

Almost eight million people don’t use the internet at all and seven and a half million use it less than once a week. They don’t benefit from the things many of us take for granted every day, and are more likely to be unemployed, have low skills and poor health. The campaign will encourage these people to take the next step toward being more confident and independent online. 

Running from 2 to 8 October, Get Online Week will encourage people get the most from the internet, by helping them to “Try One Thing” – to use the internet to do just one thing that they usually do off line. It could be their first online shopping experience or a video call with friends or relatives, setting up online banking, booking a GP appointment, claiming benefits, or applying for a job online: anything that they haven’t had the skills or confidence to try before. 

Get Online Week is the UK’s biggest annual digital inclusion campaign, and in Oxford it will see drop in sessions running between 9am and 4pm each day (9am to 3pm on Friday) at St Aldate's Chambers, St Aldate's, in Oxford, with friendly staff and volunteers helping people to take their next step toward being a confident, capable and safe user of the internet. There will also be a chance to win a new tablet PC for those that Try One Thing during the week.

Cllr Susan Brown, Board Member for Customer and Corporate Services said: "Get Online Week is a national idea which Oxford City Council fully supports. "We know that there are many people who haven't yet really got to grips with the internet and all it has to offer. We want to help them take their first steps to becoming more confident. We have therefore set up these drop-in sessions in the heart of Oxford. I urge people to come along to increase their confidence in entering the digital world." 

Helen Milner OBE, Chief Executive of Good Things Foundation, the charity behind Get Online Week, said: “In today’s world, using Facebook or checking the weather online isn’t enough to make someone a truly digital citizen. Millions of people are still missing out on the huge benefits the internet can offer. We believe in a world where everyone can benefit from digital, and Get Online Week is critical in encouraging thousands of people to explore the internet for the first time.”