Community-led digital inclusion support
From an article by Digileaders
How do you reach people who aren’t online? How do you engage people who simply aren’t interested in learning digital skills? One way is through local digital inclusion hubs.
3000+ organisations across the UK form the National Digital Inclusion Network. These hubs provide community-led support, helping people to access the internet, do basic and essential online tasks and learn basic digital skills so that they can make the most out of the online world.
With 1 in 14 households offline and 10.2 million people lacking the basic digital skills, this support is essential. The digital divide gets deeper every day as more services move online and the cost-of-living crisis forces households to cancel broadband packages they can no longer afford.
These local digital inclusion hubs reach people who are often furthest from being online or who would be very unlikely to attend formal learning at a college, for example. They are trusted spaces with teams that understand their communities and how to reach them.
The digital inclusion hubs could be any kind of organisation that provides local support to help people get online. The network is diverse and wonderfully varied, and the kind of support they offer can differ. They might focus on digital skills, access to free mobile data or broadband, or providing devices to people who can’t afford them. Support might be offered at a drop-in, a group session or interwoven with another activity like crafts or even a food bank.
Although they all offer different types of support in very different ways, they have some important things in common; they are local and provide warm, welcoming and non-judgmental spaces for people who need help. Community-based support is vital because it is so person-centred, it takes into account who a person is, the barriers they face and what they need from digital. All hubs will have a deep understanding of how digital exclusion impacts and interacts with other parts of a person’s life – education, health, family, financial, employment and more.
The National Digital Inclusion Network is a movement with a shared vision: to fix the digital divide for good. It’s free to join, and they’ve welcomed over 1200 new members in 2022-23. Members can also access:
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Grant opportunities through the new Fix the Digital Divide fund
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Access to free mobile data through the National Databank
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Opportunities to apply for devices from the National Device Bank
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Free digital inclusion training opportunities
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Access to our free basic digital skills platform Learn My Way
Read the full article here.
Could this be a way for your organisation to serve and reach out to your community?
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From an article by Digileaders, 06/12/2023