{"id":34897,"date":"2023-10-19T12:46:37","date_gmt":"2023-10-19T11:46:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digileaders.com\/?p=34897"},"modified":"2023-10-19T19:01:49","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T18:01:49","slug":"community-led-digital-inclusion-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digileaders.com\/community-led-digital-inclusion-support\/","title":{"rendered":"Community-led digital inclusion support"},"content":{"rendered":"

How do you reach people who aren\u2019t online? How do you engage people who simply aren\u2019t interested in learning digital skills? These are two questions we hear all the time from a range of stakeholders, and we usually give the same answer \u2013 through local\u00a0digital inclusion hubs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

By this, I mean the amazing teams at 3000+ organisations that form the\u00a0National Digital Inclusion Network<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n

With\u00a01 in 14 households<\/a>\u00a0offline and\u00a010.2 million people<\/a>\u00a0lacking 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. The recent House of Lords\u00a0Digital Exclusion Report<\/a>\u00a0recognised the importance of community-based support in addressing the issue, saying:<\/p>\n

Local interventions and more informal engagements delivered through community hubs can provide a key way of reaching digitally excluded individuals, and building the motivation, confidence and skills needed to get online.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

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 incredible teams that understand their communities and how to reach them.<\/p>\n

When we say digital inclusion hubs, this could be any kind of organisation that provides local support to help people get online. The National Digital Inclusion 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\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n