This is Get Online Week, a digital inclusion campaign run by Good Things Foundation. It has been running as an annual week-long event since 2010, though started with Get Online Day in 2007. The campaign aims to bring digital inclusion to national attention and this week sees hundreds of events and activities taking place in local communities under the message that everyone can Get Online: Get Connected.
With Lloyds Consumer Digital Index 2020 reporting that 9 million people in the UK cannot get online independently, and the fact that a lack of digital skills affects people’s access to jobs, education, services and shopping, as well as leading to loneliness and social isolation, the extent of the problem and its negative impacts on people’s lives becomes apparent.
At Laptops4Learning we are acutely aware that digital inclusion is very dependent on people having access to devices to enable them to get online, and our work revolves around making sustainable devices available to help tackle digital inequality. However, this is only one part of the equation, with access to broadband or mobile data, and having digital skills also essential to complete the picture and break down the barriers to digital inclusion.
We applaud the work done by Good Things Foundation, who work hard across all issues to help people improve their lives through digital. With last year’s Get Online Week seeing over 400 community organisations holding events for those with low digital skills and reaching over 20,000 people, let’s hope that this year is even more successful at reaching those who desperately need digital skills to improve their lives.