Peter Sinclair of U3A UK's International Group maintains our WWW LINKS on his website at http://www.harrowu3a.co.uk and has monitored the growth of U3A web sites in the UK since October 1996. He says:---

"Here is the graph (click here or on the thumbnail for a larger view) which demonstrates unequivocally the rapid growth and acceptance of the Internet by U3A members in the UK.

There are other statistics which can be extrapolated from the fact that there are now 265 such U3A websites in the UK. The total U3A membership in the UK is now just under 210,000 men and women comprising almost 700 local U3A groups.

With just under 40% of all local U3A groups in the UK having their own website, it is reasonable to assume that probably about 40% of our total UK membership also has direct access to the Internet in their own home. This leads one to the conclusion that there may be around 80,000 U3A members in the country with whom E-mail communication is not only possible but practical.

The above calculation is supported by our Harrow U3A 'Members Only' E-mail register which has more than 400 subscribers, out of a total of nearly 1400 local members. This equates to nearly 40% of our membership, although our E-mails reach around 2/3rd of all members because many subscribers have wives, husbands or partners. We provide regular frequent E-mail updates of breaking news, new courses, information on local and national events and all manner of facts of potential interest to the membership.

Clearly, the Internet has found ready and enthusiastic acceptance by large and growing number of U3A members."

June 2008