National initiative to tackle digital poverty launched in King's Lynn
Tech-4-Families'- has been created by the 'Digital Poverty Alliance' in conjunction with Currys
Last updated 14th Jun 2022
A family from West Walton has received a donated laptop for free- to kick start the rollout of a national initiative to tackle digital poverty across the Country.
'Tech-4-Families'- which has been created by the 'Digital Poverty Alliance' in conjunction with Currys- was launched at the Hardwick retail park in King's Lynn, yesterday.
"This will help immensely"
Cathy says getting the device is nothing short of life-changing for her daughter Davina who starts studying for her GCSE's next year:
"During lockdown we borrowed equipment for home learning, because we didn't have the facilities- so it enabled her to study. It was very difficult to communicate with others during that time, but this will help immensely. I wasn't aware of how bad it was until lockdown came about, then we saw ourselves and others put in that situation".
"We're in a store where even the washing machines are Wi-Fi enabled"
Elizabeth Anderson is the groups, Chief Operating Officer.
She says told us why they decided to start the rollout in our county
"We wanted to focus on areas across the country where we see high levels of 'digital poverty'. That's people being unable to access the internet for whatever reason, lack devices, connectivity, lack of skills to make best use of those services and West Norfolk is one of those areas, where those features are most prevalent".
She says there's a lot of work to do and fears a 'two-tier society' is emerging:
"Step one, we've got to get more people with devices, we've got to get more people on-line. We've got to explain to people why being online is so important, what you can't access if you're offline. We also have to signpost people to the skills that they need to make the best of those services. As the internet of things grows, digital poverty will widen. We're in a store where event the washing machines are Wi-Fi enabled".
"We are see growingly that services are moving online, if you need to access education? It's online. Skills? Online. Finding work? Online. GP appointments, changing energy suppliers, reporting a missed bid- all of these are things you do online. But for so many people, millions of people, there are either off-line or they don't have the skills to be able to use that online provision".