Papers & Presentations
Community Portals in Western Australia
Jackie Gill, Project leader, Strategic Directions with the Office of Information and Communications, WA Department of Commerce and Trade
Regional Western Australia, through the Department of Commerce and Trade’s Office of Information and Communications, is being helped to get “online” to capitalise on the benefits and opportunities offered by the Information Age. In an innovative program called OnlineWA Communities, communities working together to optimise the opportunities offered from the online era. Communities of Common Interest – both geographic and virtual – are coming together in several “portal” or “gateway” projects designed to bring people together despite distance - to facilitate communication; the delivery of information and services and the sharing of ideas.
OnlineWA Communities incorporates the development and construction of some major webservices, including a range of portals which are both geographic – such as Avon on Line and the Albany Gateway; or virtual, such as the Triple R Network made up of 4000 non-metropolitan women. The OnlineWA Communities webservice will feature demonstration sites being developed in consultation with the communities which will use them. This is critical in identifying and dealing with the issues which are emerging from this new and powerful networking medium. Documenting the learning processes of each community is an important part of the process and will assist a smooth adoption of the new technologies throughout the State, as will the training and awareness programs being rolled out under the program.
Biography
Jackie Gill is Project leader, Strategic Directions with the Office of information and Communications in the WA Department of Commerce and Trade and is largely responsible for WA's "communities of interest online" as well as a number of "community portal development programs.
However she comes to Government from a varied background in community development and cultural planning, having headed up her own consulting business (based in a regional centre of WA) for seven years. Jackie has a solid background in community development having worked in the field in IT, the arts and cultural development in both a professional and community capacity.