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The aim of the Intel Computer Clubhouse, which is at the Foroige-operated Blanchardstown Youth Centre and is the first such Intel centre in Europe, is to help young people in the area between the ages of 10 and 18 to develop their computer skills.
Intel has provided 16 PCs and relevant software, as well as a range of equipment such as video cameras, scanners and computer microscopes. Children in the Blanchardstown region can also avail of a dedicated music room in the centre.
"The idea behind the Clubhouse is to give kids in underdeveloped areas the opportunity to use computers and other technologies in an open, safe environment," Intel Ireland's media relations manager, Karina Howley, told ElectricNews.Net.
According to Howley, children attending the centre aren't taught computer programmes in formal classes, but are instead encouraged to "learn by doing."
"The children get involved in projects based on their own interests and throughout that process can learn skills such as how to create computer-generated art and build their own Web pages," remarked Howley. There is also an on-going mentoring programme for the children which involves a number of volunteers from the local community and from Intel.
The Blanchardstown Clubhouse was officially launched at the end of March by An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, TD, but its doors actually opened in December of last year.
The response to the centre since its opening has been very positive, said Gavin Byrne, the Clubhouse's co-ordinator, with around 90 children signing up as a members. "We had a target of 100 by the end of summer so we are ahead of schedule," said Byrne. "We have also noticed that the children continue to return to the centre on a regular basis and don't tend to lose interest after a couple of visits as they are sometimes prone to do with other projects."
Intel said that it will have spent around USD100,000 on the Clubhouse Centre during its first year in operation. The funding for the centre is due to continue for four years and Byrne said that youth development organisation Foroige was determined to ensure that it stayed open beyond that date.
The Blanchardstown Intel Computer Clubhouse is just one of 100 such centres that Intel plans to open around the world at a cost of around USD38 million. Intel management in Ireland is hopeful that it will be able to open another such centre here under the scheme, with Dublin again being its likely destination.
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