Campaign to make Internet more accessible to disabled and older people gains support

Two public sector bodies have been the first of their kind to join a national campaign which helps disabled and older people overcome the difficulties faced when using the Internet.

Go ON Gold is a national campaign created to raise awareness and solve the barriers facing these groups in an increasingly digital society.

Trafford Council and Socitm - the membership association for all IT professionals working in local authorities - will encourage their staff to engage with the campaign in order to be the first public bodies to help people access their online services. They will use a range of resources and accessibility tools to achieve this goal.

Go ON Gold co-founder Kevin Carey praised Trafford Council and Socitm’s commitment to ensuring the accessibility for people with a variety of disabilities, and said: “By enabling their employees to understand the issues faced by disabled residents who struggle to use the Internet, they are taking giant steps towards a more inclusive society.”

"New technology - whether it's the Internet, smartphones or digital TV - can be a force for good, but it can also turn into another way of excluding disabled people from work, entertainment, shopping and other everyday activities.”

Both bodies will become ambassadors for the Go ON Gold initiative, which hopes to make a ‘digital by default’ government a reality, ensuring that the four million disabled citizens who have never been online will obtain the support they need.

Executive councillor Alex Williams said: “With the right support in place, virtually anyone with any disability should be able to access council services online, whether at home or from one of our networked PCs across the borough”

Socitm managing director Adrian Hancock added: “The Go ON Gold initiative has real potential to reduce the division between digital 'have's and 'have-nots'.”

Campaign organisers now hope other public sector groups will follow their lead. Go ON Gold is already backed by the BBC, Age UK, the Post Office, Talk Talk, Llyods, the Big Lottery Fund and Eon, and intends to sign more than 100 digital partners like these organisations this year. It is also anticipated that over the next 12 months up to 1,000 new digital champions will be gained.

For more information visit: www.go-on-gold.co.uk