Wellington City Council wins award for digital access

The Wellington City Council has won the first UNESCO New Zealand Digital Access Award at the "Catching the Knowledge Wave" conference in Auckland.

The Prime Minister presented the Award to the Council for "its innovative endeavours in promoting empowerment, participation and access for all in the knowledge society".

UNESCO NZ representative Liz Longworth, an internet lawyer, said the Wellington City Council was one of the first local authorities to recognise the emerging knowledge economy and the importance of building a "digitally literate" community.

"It has worked consistently for 15 years to translate its vision into action. Its focus on 'access for all' has remained at the core of its strategy, making the it a most deserving recipient," Ms Longworth said.

Last weekend, the Council in conjunction with Fujitsu put a computer room into council flats at Newtown Park giving 450 residents free access to computer training.

In 1986, WCC launched its own internal computer network called City Net.

The following year, the Council installed fibre optic cable between its buildings and later to other buildings in the city, creating one of the world's first city-wide broadband networks.

In 1992, they provided dial-up access to one of its computers so that the public could access Council information.