Computer club set to open

Wanganui youths are getting closer to having a host of digital technology at their fingertips as building of a new youth-focused computer clubhouse meets the halfway point.
Currently under development in the Youth Services Trust Building on Park Place, the $400,000 clubhouse is funded for two years through the Department of Internal Affairs Digital Strategy, as a joint project by the Wanganui District Council and Whanganui Youth Services Trust.
It is the second to be developed in New Zealand. The first was established in 2005 in Otara, Auckland.
The clubhouse will be free to use for youths aged 11-18 to work on creative projects, and learn how to use a wide variety of software.
Mentors will also be employed at the clubhouse to provide technical support and guidance, and former YMCA youth worker Masina Kenworthy will oversee the clubhouse as coordinator.
The idea was that youths would come in during after school hours with projects in mind and receive help in completing them, whether it was to record a song, upload a photo, or create a short film, Miss Kenworthy said.
Their work would then be displayed regularly on the computer clubhouse's global village website, and at the clubhouse, she said.
Technology available at the clubhouse would include 15 Mackintosh computers, two laptops, film and sound recording devices, digital cameras, robotics, a big screen television and a green screen for recording, she said.
The room is divided into three parts; a boardroom, which will also house the television and video recording software, a main floor with three pods of five computers and a chill-out space, and an audio recording room, complete with sound blocking.
Three mentors had offered their services so far, and the hunt would be on for more closer to opening, Miss Kenworthy said.
Miss Kenworthy will be heading to the Otara clubhouse at the end of the month to receive training, in preparation for the grand opening of the Wanganui branch at the end of May.