Age Friendly Banbury helping you Connect!

It is ‘Get Online Week 2020’, and the partners in Age Friendly Banbury are ready to help local residents Connect! In a joint digital initiative, involving Citizens Advice, Cherwell District Council, Age UK Oxfordshire, Madni Masjid Mosque, the Royal Voluntary Service (RVS) and more, safe one to one support is being provided. It is estimated that 4.1m people in the UK are not online and over 11m have low digital skills.

In a time of social distancing and an increase in isolation, the partnership encourages residents to stay connected digitally. If you have a device and access to the internet, but do not know how to make the most of being online, get in touch. Residents can call the RVS and organise a one on one training session. Find out how to get online safely and use your device for everyday activities – making a video call, internet shopping, exercises classes online or whatever you need to know.

Bee Myson, Age Friendly Banbury co-ordinator, commented: “This is such a wonderful example of a real partnership project for Banbury. The Age Friendly Banbury partners are all playing to their strengths and are ready to help you get online with some very practical and personal support. Face to face training gives you the opportunity to ask questions and make sure you learn the skills that you need. We cannot ignore the need for people to feel comfortable using technology, so that they stay connected.”

Residents of Banbury, and the surrounding area, can book their Connect! appointment by calling the Royal Voluntary Service on 01295 264 214.

Notes for editors
About Age Friendly Banbury
• Age Friendly Banbury is a partnership between local organisations with an interest in making Banbury an age-friendly town. It brings together older people, community leaders, local charities, businesses, and local councils.
• In the UK, there are 40 age-friendly cities, towns, districts and counties working together to share learning and promote age-friendly practices. An age friendly town encompasses both the built environment, such as housing, transport and outdoor spaces, and the social environment, such as health and information services, civic participation and social activities. By offering a joined-up approach to social action specific to Banbury, it is hoped that older people will have more opportunities to flourish.

Get Online Week 2020 – 19-25 October –

• Get Online Week is here to make the most of the internet. The benefits of being online during lockdown were huge. Unfortunately, that was not the case for everyone. Over 11.9 million people in the UK lack the essential digital skills, and 4.1 million people are offline. 7.1 million people cannot open an app and 6 million people cannot even turn a computer on (Lloyds Banking Group Consumer Digital Index 2019). These people were left even more isolated than the rest of us. The pandemic has proved that the internet is a key utility for everyday life and knowing how to use it is an essential skill. That is why Get Online Week is more important than ever. Good Things Foundation – the charity behind Get Online Week – is also working with key supporters across the public, commercial and voluntary sectors to raise the profile of digital inclusion as an issue of national importance.