Joined all the key people interested in the world of digital inclusion yesterday. While I have heard the phrase digital inclusion, the conference deepened my understanding as speakers outlined how many people’s lives will be impoverished if they cannot keep up the digital revolution. Some jobs are only available online, so much information on local government and health care is all moving online and of course, there are shopping bargains and online discounts to services which can be missed if you can’t access the info.
The challenge is to find ways to engage people who may not know what they are missing, have no interest, lack skills or the finances to get online. It’s clear that in the future, in the developed world, it will become considered a basic human right to have access to the digital world. My children already access the internet as naturally as I do electricity. That may be in our world but many countries do not have running water yet. The truth is their digital future looks a long way off.
The People’s Voice Media team were a real practical example of a way to engage people in using digital media. And they were a fun team, which was much needed amongst the serious discussions taking place.
Enjoyed listening to Martha Lane Fox and MP Jim Knight. Seemed a bit odd for Labour MP Derek Wyatt to be scoring party political points during the question time session. It just wasn’t that sort of event and seemed a little misplaced. The lead-up to the yet-unannounced election is getting very wearing already.
The workstreams became most helpful at the end of the day when everyone broke into small groups to discuss the issues they found interesting. In the Digital Skills for all room, I joined a group discussing formal and informal learning. Then a group discussing way to engage people in social media.
Had a fun day, ended up with the impromptu announcement of the first Community Reporters conference after discussions with our Manchester partners CVM. We say Brighton and Hove is the obvious location – what does everyone else think?
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