Connect and Celebrate!

Connecting Cambridgeshire and Cambridgeshire Digital Partnership worked together to host a Cambridgeshire Digital Round-up 2024 on Wednesday 4 December. The event was aimed at and attended by organisations and individuals with a key interest in digital inclusion.  

Alongside our guests, we were able to celebrate achievements, network and learn about all things digital inclusion, as well as get involved in some incredibly informative discussions around the effects of digital exclusion on individuals. 

Discussions during the event included questions surrounding how we can help those that are digitally excluded, the relationship between digital exclusion and housing, and future aims and goals for the year ahead to combat digital exclusion.  

The conversations taking place around ‘How can we ensure that people who are digitally excluded can still access information and resources in the community?’ produced valuable information about the existing support out there. This included online learning, technology hubs, digital champions. Citizens Advice, who attended the event, listed their digital inclusion project as a helpful tool to support individuals who are digital excluded, as well the Red Hen Project discussing tablets available for groups.  

The relationship between social housing and digital exclusion was an important and useful conversation that took place during the event. Our guests discussed the significance of digital inclusion also needing to be a consideration in the processes of building new houses – this includes both good connectivity and affordability as this is not currently a consideration.  

Having poor connectivity or expensive broadband bills, or both, ensures negative consequences in various aspects of someone’s day-day life. This includes schoolwork, as while education becomes increasingly digitalised – there is an expectation for children to already be digitally literate. However, due to rising costs and connectivity, there are many children who are ‘left behind’ as they don’t have access to WiFi or suitable devices. Also, because of rising costs, there are individuals who are having to choose between heating and eating and therefore may not be able to afford connectivity.  

In addition to this, there can be a lack of knowledge on what other providers out there are offering, leading to many customers paying more money than they need to for their connectivity. These discussions around digital exclusion and housing show the importance of supporting digital inclusion and raising awareness around it.  

The discussions that were held at the event also prompted looking ahead to the new year and further digital inclusion. The goals and aims of 2025 included encouraging government to nominate a digital inclusion minister; carrying on spreading awareness through events like this one and using our skills and knowledge to help others become and stay digitally included! 

Lastly, as well as looking at future goals, the Cambridgeshire Digital Round-up 2024 also celebrated the achievements of the last year. We heard from Cambridgeshire Libraries and Cambridge Online about their success stories this year.  

Cambridgeshire Libraries helped towards fixing the digital divide by the lending of digital devices and through their digital buddies scheme, Cambridge Online were able to gain a successful partnership with Barclays to deliver two online safety for banking workshops to the community, have provided six digital inclusion hub locations in Cambridge, and the new volunteers they recruited plus the partner organisations they work with have put them on track to surpass last year’s device and data support to the community.  

Our event highlighted how 2024 has been a great year for helping reduce the digital divide and we are looking forward to carrying on our work in 2025!  

Article by Amana Khan from Connecting Cambridgeshire.