One of the projects being funded is a digital support hub for students of Dunboyne College of Further Education to assist with blended learning, new tech and remote working.
Meta is providing €250,000 in grants to support the digital upskilling of communities across Co Meath. The funding will go to several different non-profits and local education programmes.
The tech giant has a data centre in Clonee, Co Meath, which supports the operation of Meta services such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. It began serving traffic in September 2018.
As part of its initiative, Meta is funding a new digital hub for the Dunboyne College of Further Education. The portable digital hub is designed to support students working with new technology, introducing them to blended learning and remote working across the range of disciplines offered by the college.
Among the other groups to benefit from the digital skills grants are Louth and Meath Education and Training Board, Cultúr Migrants Centre and Youth Work Ireland Meath.
The funding will also be used to deliver programmes in online skills and cyber safety workshops for seniors.
Meanwhile, people living in direct provision in Mosney Village will be able to avail of English language programmes, family support programmes and digital engagement courses designed to increase young people’s confidence in coding.
“At Meta, we’re committed to supporting communities and helping them overcome the digital divide and contribute to a sustainable future through digital skills,” said Aoife Flynn, head of community development EMEA and APAC at Meta.
“Covid-19 accelerated remote working and the need for digital skills, and we’re proud to partner with local organisations to ensure that these skills are brought to those who need them most,” she added.
“Since breaking ground on our data centre in Clonee in 2016, we’ve developed strong partnerships with the local Meath community and take great pride in the resources we can offer to support digital skills and economic growth in the area.”
In recent years, Meta has invested more than €2.7m in Meath through a number of initiatives such as community action grants, support for Meath Library to establish a laptop for loan service, Prosper Meath, Covid-19 relief grants for SMEs with Meath Chamber of Commerce, and technology support for Trim Family Resource Centre.
The company is currently completing construction on two additional buildings to expand its Clonee data centre.
10 things you need to know direct to your inbox every weekday. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of essential sci-tech news.
