NBN Co launches social initiative with Men’s Sheds and Keith Schleiger

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09.06.2016 Pic: Ian Wilson Ballarat East Mens Shed L, Tim Collins and Bernie Ryan at the front of the shed

news NBN Co has announced a collaboration with the Australian Men’s Shed Association that is aimed to highlight how access to fast broadband can help men “build supportive friendships and better connect with friends and family”.

The announcement comes ahead of Men’s Health Week, which will be held 13-19 June.

Called NBN Connected Sheds, the initiative will facilitate a connection between two groups of men in Maitland, New South Wales, and Ballarat, Victoria.

The groups are scheduled to meet up in a series of “Shed Sessions” held with HD video conferencing technology and will plan the construction of a “gazebo designed to benefit a local community”, NBN Co said in a statement.

The two groups will be under the guidance of expert builder Keith Schleiger — foreman on reality TV series The Block — and are expected to learn from each other’s construction and design expertise, while also “building friendships and to discovering new ways to communicate”.

“I’ve seen first-hand that men don’t like to talk about their feelings, but that just makes it even more important to tackle it head-on,” said Keith Schleiger. “As tough as I may seem on TV, I’m definitely a bit of a softie and sometimes the only way to deal with a problem is to talk about it with a mate.”

“The NBN Connected Sheds initiative is a great example of how access to fast Internet can give men the chance to reach out to other communities and connect with a much larger network of people and resources, no matter where they live or where they come from,” he added.

NBN Co cited research it commissioned which found that 48% of male grandparents aged 55 and older believe using the Internet has assisted them to feel more connected to their friends and family.

Furthermore, over a fifth of men in the same group (22%) agreed that using the Internet has helped them build friendships and overcome feelings of loneliness, NBN Co said.

“Connecting the Men’s Sheds to the NBN network has shown how men from all walks of life can come together to expand their respective networks in a positive and safe environment to learn from each other, form new friendships and contribute to the wider community,” said Professor John Macdonald, Director of the Men’s Health Information and Resource Centre at the University of Western Sydney.

“It’s initiatives such as this one, which highlight the importance of encouraging all Australian men to reach out to each other for support and companionship,” Macdonald concluded.

Men’s sheds are non-profit organisations that originally aimed to advise and improve the overall health and quality of life of men. They have since expanded to include anyone regardless of gender. The movement was founded in Australia but has since spread globally.

Image credit: Supplied by NBN Co

18 COMMENTS

  1. I am in two minds about the Men’s Sheds movement.

    On the one hand, of course it is good for both men and women to have their own spaces, where each can mix with their own sex. Mixed spaces are the norm, of course — most households and workplaces are mixed! — but it is also good to have segregated spaces.

    However, I also feel like some of this is a bit patronising.

    I mean look at the two guys in the photo above. They’re quite old. They know how the world works. Do they really need to learn about “building friendships and to discovering new ways to communicate”? Surely this is stuff they would know by now.

    When I retire in 30 years, am I going to spend time in my workshop hanging out with my mates? Of course. But I don’t think that needs to be part of a formal movement that appears to have involved the NBN company’s marketing team. It’s just hanging out with your mates.

    • However, I also feel like some of this is a bit patronising.

      I feel it is completely patronising.

    • I quite look forward to the new FttS product!

      Oh, and as you get older, you’ll notice a fair few of your mates start going MIA ;(

      I think it’s actually not that bad an idea.

  2. It’s MSB: Men’s Shed Broadband. Testosterone has replaced that pesky fibre optic stuff.

  3. So they might do Fibre to the Shed, but they won’t do Fibre to the Premises?

    Without meaning to diminish the value of Men’s Sheds (they do have a lot to offer), this simply paints necessary broadband as some sort of chest thumping, boy’s toys type of solution.

    It’s not a boy’s toy any more than fast reliable networking is a boy’s toy inside our corporate networks today. It’s necessary for the future, and it creates opportunity now. I find it sad, and rather worrying that this sort of infrastructure is marginalised in this way. Why not have the NBN at home and then … surprise suprise … there’s no need for them to collaborate at “The Shed” ?

    Wouldn’t that be a novel idea, bringing people together in the comfort of their own homes. /end sarcasm

  4. More wasted taxpayer funds.

    Now NBN are in the business of commissioning surveys on matters unrelated to their mandate..

    “NBN Co cited research it commissioned which found that 48% of male grandparents aged 55 and older believe using the Internet has assisted them to feel more connected to their friends and family.”

    HOW ABOUT YOU BUILD THE BLOODY NETWORK AND STOP WASTING MONEY ON USELESS CRAP!

    • STOP WASTING MONEY ON USELESS CRAP!

      You talking about this initiative or the MTM clusterfuck?

      • Do they have to be mutually exclusive?

        ;-)

        I’m pretty sure the Coalition government has more than enough experience in fustercluck creation where they can make them up at will.

        /turn satire on

        Ladies and gentlement … Exhibit A – MTM. And a cluck (among many) that make up the fuster … may I present for all you Grandpas out there (because let’s face it guys, you’re all old … you like getting together with other old people right? RIGHT?) … get together with the older boys and the government will give you a broadband toy. Just don’t ask for the ability to pay to get it at home … no can do on that front Granddad.

        /turn satire off

    • Spot on. Focus on delivery, rest will take care of itself.

      Again, another GBE morphed into a public funded plaything. 60 person media team for a wholesale provider is ridiculous. If your not contributing to VC delivery then go. Renewed focus on cost cutting and value creation.

  5. Renai,

    > When I retire in 30 years, am I going to spend time in my workshop hanging out with my mates?

    The thing you are missing is that so many older men don’t have mates. They’ve retired and lost their work contacts, divorce or death may have removed their life partners or perhaps they never married. Simply moving home can leave you stranded from friends and families.

    Plus churches no longer play the role they once did.

    There’s lots of lonely people out there, especially among older people.

  6. Just think of all them men and boys that could of received full time work and apprenticeships from NBNco if they actually employed their own workforce…

  7. Woah back up a minute. NBN is not superfast. That is a marketing scam and worthy of reporting to the ACCC if any ISP uses that term.

    HD video conferencing requires low latency, a stable connection and good upload. END TO END. END TO END. That was the point of UNIVERSAL FIBRE CONNECTIONS.

    If this is FTTN it’s a SCAM and a joke. Hopelessly trying to defend their faulty ADSL type service telephone line service crap. It’s just a revamp of ADSL.

    • “NBN is not superfast. That is a marketing scam and worthy of reporting to the ACCC if any ISP uses that term.”
      Incorrect. The government definition of ‘broadband’ is 1.5Mbps (ACCCs definition is less irc); reinstated by Turnbull in 2014.

  8. This will not be achievable either over 600ms latency Satellite with measly data. Who knows about fixed wireless.

  9. “… aimed to highlight how access to fast broadband can help men ‘build supportive friendships and better connect with friends and family.'”

    But only if no water enters the Nodes?

    As a bloke in that age bracket myself, forgive me for being somewhat under{glub glub}whelmed. At least I have a reasonably well-paid job with plenty of mateship amongst a mixed-age mixed-gender crowd of peers. And there is always email… Thanks but no thanks Mr Innovation.

Comments are closed.