41 q Annual Report 2013-2014
Regional Victoria Living Expo
Horsham Rural City Council was represented at the Regional Victoria Living Expo at the Melbourne Convention Centre from 11 to 13 April 2014. This is the third year Council has participated at the expo.
The Regional Victoria Living Expo was introduced in 2011 by the former State Government as a core component of their Regional Victoria Marketing Campaign, designed to entice Melbournians to relocate to regional Victoria. Council received a grant from the Victorian State Government to participate.
Approximately 147 exhibitors, including all 48 regional Councils, participated in the event, which is free for the general public to attend. Horsham Rural City Council provided two case studies of families that have moved to the municipality after attending earlier expo events, and these case studies were used as part of the media campaign, through radio, television and press promoting the event.
There was a record crowd of 9,638 attending across the three days at this year’s event. Once again, the expo had a mixture of genuine people looking for a better lifestyle in regional Victoria, skilled migrants keen to move to the country and some people looking for information to help plan their next holiday.
During the Regional Victoria Living Expo, 62 active enquiries were logged from a broad range of people looking to move to our area. Since the expo, a number of families have visited Horsham looking at relocating to the Wimmera.
Digital Community Strategy
In 2013, Horsham Rural City Council adopted a Digital Community Strategy. The purpose of the Digital Community Strategy is to ensure that all members of the community have the opportunity to engage with technology if they wish to do so. The strategy contains a number of objectives to create a digitally inclusive community, taking into consideration the following key factors:
q Access – barriers to internet connection due to availability or cost
q Equipment – barriers in access to modern equipment at a suitable cost
q Skill – improving capacity of community members to use equipment
q Attitude – overcoming fear and mistrust of digital services
As the first step in implementing the Digital Community Strategy, it is proposed to offer free community Wi-Fi in a number of public open spaces in Horsham’s central business district and Council will invite expressions of interest for the design, supply, training, documentation and implementation of an Enterprise Public Wi-Fi system in July/August 2014.
Provision of free Wi-Fi in public open spaces will allow visitors and locals to instantly check emails and log into their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts and post photos and comments about our city. Most international tourists do not have 3G coverage, and access to free Wi-Fi will enable them to Facebook, Tweet, Instagram and email their experience in the Wimmera to the world.
There are a number of other key strategies contained in the Digital Community Strategy which will be further explored during the coming year.
Colin Kemp, Rachel Hateley and Peter Brown at the Regional Victoria Living Expo in Melbourne.
A great place to live - vibrant, inclusive, welcoming...
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