News and views

Local Authorities are crucial drivers of digital inclusion - and there are lots of great resources and research around at the moment targeted at them. We've pulled together some of our favourites....

2022 proved to be a big year for Digital Unite, and a pretty momentous one too. As we take a moment to reflect, here are a few special reasons why we’re celebrating the last 12 months.

Did you know? Thousands of Digital Champions have studied our courses on our Digital Champions Network and 98% would recommend them!

We were delighted to receive the Bronze Award for Best Use of Blended Learning at the Learning Technologies Awards 2022 on 16 November.

Digital Unite is working with Virgin Media O2 Business to boost digital inclusion understanding and awareness amongst their employees, as part of their national programme, Connect More.

The Lloyds Consumer Digital Index once again shines an important light on digital inclusion across the UK.  Digital is now a thread woven through almost all forms of exclusion. Making sure people can use the internet and technology so they have equitable opportunities to information, benefits and savings, especially during today’s cost-of-living crisis, is a responsibility for everyone.

New practical guides about helping people with learning disabilities to use digital technology are now available for free on our website! As one of the most digitally excluded groups in society, people with learning disabilities need help to take their first steps towards using and enjoying the internet.

​​​​​​​Join our tour at 12.30pm on Thursday 17 November to take a closer look at our new and improved Digital Champions Network.

From today, Thursday 8 September 2022, charities and community groups are invited to sign up to a new fully funded programme to build essential digital skills in West Cumbria.

If you’re a charity or community group in West Cumbria and helping people with digital skills, then this free offer is for you.

Getting people to become Digital Champions can be tricky. In fact, amongst the 100+ organisations in our Digital Champions Network, enlisting Champions is cited as their most challenging aspect.

Since the launch of their first digital strategy in 2017, Brent Council has been committed to helping everyone in their area with using and benefiting fully from technology. From helping staff and residents to businesses and partners, they have a clear direction to become a truly digital borough.

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To celebrate national Volunteer Week (1 – 7 June 2022), we asked the Digital Champions within our Network to share photos of their work in action. And what a wonderful selection of pictures we had. From sheer joy and excitement on using an iPad for the first time to digital inclusion in a pub, the diverse range of photos captured inspiring Digital Champion moments. Our judges chose three favourites and awarded the winning Champions a £100 Amazon voucher.

We welcome the Government’s Digital Strategy released yesterday (13 June) but were disappointed it didn’t do more to address the issue of basic digital skills and fundamental digital inclusion.

Being online helps people stay safe, stay informed and stay connected. And when face to face support for digital skills isn't possible, help can be given remotely - via telephone, video call, email or messaging.

With fragile funding and tight resources, embedding a Digital Champion approach across several organisations and sectors can help to build capacity and deliver long-lasting impact.

Right now, the cost of everything is rising and millions of people are feeling the financial squeeze. Having good digital skills is one thing that can help. It means people use the internet to shop around, compare prices, access benefits and information and take advantage of special offers.

Clarion Futures’ Digital Champions Network is more than 10 years old and still going strong!

Here are some of our most popular guides and resources to get a Digital Champions project up and running. There's lots more information on the Digital Champions Network.

With remote teaching now a key approach for digital skills support, a new online training course has been created for Digital Champions.

Available on Digital Unite’s award-winning Digital Champions Network and the Digital Health Champions Network, the course gives people the confidence and knowledge to teach someone digital skills remotely, whether that is via telephone and email or using video tools such as Zoom and Skype.

Spring is in the air and to help put the bounce into your digital inclusion approach, we’re running a special training offer this March.

Join our Digital Champions Network by 31 March 2022 and you’ll receive 5 bonus training licences, worth £450.

Getting a Digital Champion programme going from a standing still position can seem daunting at first but with a few ideas and a bit of perseverance, it can quickly deliver the digital skills support your customers or service users need.

In the UK, there are an estimated 800,000 working age people with mild-to-moderate learning disabilities in the UK but only 17% are in work¹.  Covid-19 has exacerbated the problem as people with learning disabilities face further exclusion from the workplace due to the increasing reliance on digital skills, the move to remote working and rising unemployment.

In a Covid-era, when being able to use technology and the internet is vital, around 160 Digital Health Champions have been supporting patients with developing essential digital skills.