Computer Access is now closed. This is merely a legacy site, to ensure that what we did, how we did it, and who did it, is remembered.
Hackney Computer Access was run by a volunteer board of Peter Lyons, Diane Mayers and Andrew Brown. Nigel Dunn provided the technical activity and its renowned Summer Schemes were run by experts in their field, brought in to help each summer. HCA was joined by David Fitzpatrick and, as it mutated into Computer Access, it was again run by a voluntary board, with David Fitzpatrick as the then paid Managing Director, with Nigel Dunn running the technical side, joined by Mike Bowles and others as the funds permitted and projects needed. Our HOST work initially supported the activities of Poptel, at that time through Malcolm Corbett and Shaun Fensom, and was then eventually run by them. We owed much to the support of Dave Carter, then as now very much a Manchester-based ICT guru. Bill Duggan was a long standing volunteer and John Prince worked with us on Black and minority ethnic issues.
Mike Bowles continued the good work when Computer Access moved into St Luke's Community Centre, in Canning Town, Newham, London, until, eventually, Computer Access moved into the annals of ICT history.
Computer Access was way ahead of its time and is still fondly remembered. It is worth praising the vision of Dalston City Partnership, the Hackney-based government regeneration funding agency. Richard Simmons, its then Chief Executive, supported by Godwin Poi, its Director of Finance, was visionary and willing to take the risk of funding the Hackney Host. It is interesting to note that, when we made the presentation to DCP, one of the (voluntary) Directors, then the CEO of the City and Inner London Training and Enterprise Council (TEC), stood up and said "Why would any business or organisation want to have this electronic communication being proposed? With faxes and telexes, no one will use it and I really do not think it is needed.". Luckily, the others did not agree and the rest, as they say, is history.
