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We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and live, and recognise their continuing connection to land, water and community. We pay respect to Elders past, present and emerging.

Welcome to SWADE

The SWADE project (originally based on the acronym for Seniors West Australian Digital Expansion) is a project aiming to expand digital literacy and support for older people throughout Australia. A successful grant application by ASCCA to Good Things Foundation under the umbrella of the federal Department of Social Services and the Digital Literacy for Older Australians initiative, to deliver the Be Connected program in 2018 was the funding ASCCA needed to strengthen existing and establish new collaborative and mutually beneficial partnerships with local stakeholders and partners throughout previously underrepresented states and Territories throughout Australia.

SWADE was launched by ASCCA’s small team of two (spanning from top to bottom of WA) to Community Resource Centres in February 2018 and they have worked tirelessly to spread the word of just how digital literacy can help bring people together and enrich lives since.

Since rolling out the Be Connected Capacity Building project in Western Australia, ASCCA has formed a strong partnership with Linkwest, the peak body representing Neighbourhood and Community Resource Centres throughout Western Australia, who are the 2019 Capacity Builders for Neighbourhood and Community Resource Centres throughout WA. The WA Regional Resource Connect Project is continuing to support Regional and Remote West Australians as well as their metro cousins in Perth through Neighbourhood Centres.

Since then, ASCCA has applied for other rounds of the Be Connected Capacity Building funding in order to support organisations throughout the Northern Territory and New South Wales.

The aim is to build on the successful delivery model from SWADE-WA 2018 and work with organisations across Australia to assist them in their aspirations to support older people in their digital discovery journey, and increase the representation of seniors in more states and territories throughout Australia.

Be Connected

The Federal Government has identified a need to better equip older Australians in this digital age. They have engaged the Good Things Foundation to roll out the Be Connected program from 2017 - 2020 in order to support Australians across the country in embracing digital technology.

ASCCA, as the National peak body representing Seniors and technology, began the SWADE project to facilitate the first Capacity Builder project across regional and remote Western Australia. This project developed a strong partnership with Linkwest, the West Australian peak body representing Neighbourhood and Community Resource Centres throughout WA.

The WA Regional Resource Connect project is Linkwest's Capacity Builder project for 2019 and it aims to connect metro, regional and remote people to digital resources via regional and remote Community Resource Centres (CRCs) and Neighbourhood Centres (NCs).

Linkwest will recruit new CRCs and NCs to the Be Connected network and strengthen the relationship of Centres currently already part of the network.

The main principles of Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) will be employed to create a state-wide co-learning community centred around CRCs, NCs and Senior's Computer Clubs working towards supporting seniors in their digital literacy journey.

While the project’s main delivery partners will be CRCs and NCs, Linkwest will also work with, and recruit, other partners.

Be Connected, SWADE and WA Regional Resource Connect - A Partnership increasing digital literacy in older West Australians

The Australian Seniors Computer Clubs Association, or ASCCA, is the national peak body for seniors and technology.
Their mission is to assist Seniors Computer Clubs to educate seniors in using digital technology to enrich their lives and make them more self-reliant.
They bridge the generation gap and assist seniors to benefit the community through their collective experience and knowledge.