The projects initial concept was to use the Chinese New Year to host a virtual international event with Belfast’s sister city in China. This we achieved and gave us online resources which we have utilised in the current Belfast City Council funded project. This ‘Digital Multiply’ project gave us more time to plan and consider how technology can be used across our operations to address the digital divide . It allowed us to develop our online facilities to ‘host’ events and ‘produce’ virtual spaces which were designed to be used by older people. 

The spaces were specially designed to replicate in a virtual format the Chinese Resource Centre in Belfast which is the hub of the Chinese Community. 

Many of our older members were key players in the work  to achieve a Centre and they see it as their greatest achievement. This meant that as age, disability and then COVID isolation prevented them from using even visiting the Centre there was a real sense of loss. Using technology we have allowed them to revisit and start to reuse the Centre in a virtual way using  hand held devises. 

The project allowed us to involve older people in a safe way and expose them to technology and its benefits effecting a culture shift in the organisation.