EALING Council has been selected as one of ten national finalists in the Digital Challenge competition, which aims to find a community using innovative technology to reduce social and digital exclusion.

The council is receiving £120,000 - a share of £1.2 million in Government funding - to develop its bid prior to final submission in January 2007. The ultimate winner will receive £7 million to put their bid into action.

Ealing's Digital Vision coincides with the council's community strategy Success Through Diversity, which aims to create a successful borough where everyone has the opportunity to prosper and live in a community that is safe, cohesive and engaged.

A key building block of the vision is to implement a technology platform that will offer and support a range of devices, such as mobile phones, digital TV and video games consoles. People living in Ealing will be able to use this infrastructure to create and access services and information in a way that best suits them.

The digital vision features innovative and creative ideas aligned to each of the key themes in the strategy. Some examples include: Telehealth and telecare facilities - implementation of remote health monitoring systems. Empowering people to live independently and monitor their health from the comfort of their own homes.

Virtual classrooms - young people can get study material via the web or Podcasts for example. This will help encourage parent involvement in their children's learning. It will also mean excluded pupils will be able to learn from home.

Mobile job brokerage - a mobile employment service that will support the unemployed by providing support and guidance for applying for jobs online.

Personal payment card facility - children could benefit from a personal payment card facility that would monitor their eating habits, including their nutritional intake, and promote healthy living.

Multilingual technology - for the BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) communities, barriers in communication would be removed with multilingual technology. Information would be available on all communication devices in a range of languages, for example information exchange via SMS in Hindi.

Ealing is the third most ethnically diverse borough in London, and as such, Ealing's Digital Vision will contribute significantly to addressing digital and social exclusion issues by working in partnership with the Ealing Community Network (ECN) and Ealing Community and Voluntary Service, which represent the voluntary and community organisations in Ealing.

Carmel Cahill, ECN co-ordinator for Ealing Community Network, said: "Ealing Community Network has worked with Ealing Council from the outset to develop a bid that would have real impact at grass roots level. There is no doubt that the bid would improve the lives of those living in Ealing, particularly minority groups.

"Voluntary groups would be recognised as trusted intermediaries between minority and ethnic groups, ensuring that, for example, ethnic minorities would be able to work with people from their own countries, increasing understanding and trust.

"These groups would be bolstered with new technologies that could help them to support their communities better. This would have real impact in terms of breaking down the barriers."

Commenting on the bid, Sheenal Sejpal, Ealing Council bid manager, says, "The Ealing bid will have real impact in terms of breaking down the barriers and ensuring social inclusion. Ealing is the only London borough on the shortlist and this has given us a further incentive to do well because we are representing the capital. If Ealing wins the Digital Challenge, I am confident that it would help to accelerate the use of ICT in Ealing and other areas, both nationally and internationally."

Serco Solutions is Ealing's technology partner providing guidance on the technical aspects of the bid and will support the implementation of the technology platform to deliver the digital vision.

The race is now on to become the Digital Challenge winner. The winning bid will be announced in early 2007 and will receive £7 million worth of funding to put their bid into action.

Any business offering relevant skills and products are encouraged to contact the Ealing bid team to explore opportunities to work together on the bid under the Government's framework for industry involvement.

Residents in Ealing, as well as those in the surrounding areas, can voice their opinion on what they would like to see from the challenge and gain more information about Ealing's bid by visiting www.stdedi.co.uk.