Digital scheme gets cross party support

The Sandwell Council-led iSandwell scheme has seen community organisations use technology to raise awareness of local issues and to ensure the people they support have a say in the regions digital agenda.

A total of five projects have been awarded funding, including Creative Academies, which uses social media to map youth aspiration in Sandwell, and the Friar Park Community Centre, which works with hard to reach communities to showcase how digital can have a positive impact on their lives.

The project has received cross-party support and has been praised by Digital Minister Margot James and Shadow Digital Secretary Tom Watson.

Stourbridge MP Ms James said she hoped the scheme would 'cultivate digital talent and advance the digital agenda within the local area as well as delivering the five long term outcomes that have been set'.

"A crucial part of the development of the digital agenda is the third sector," she added. "As both the private and public sectors upskill and develop their use of digital, so must the third sector to continue to achieve the great successes that organisations up and down the country achieve on a daily basis.

"In order to do that we must involve local communities and projects like iSandwell can help to perform that function.”

West Bromwich East MP Mr Watson said: "It's great that with all these projects iSandwell is putting the citizen at the heart of policy, because digitisation is about emancipating people by giving them the power of their own lives and iSandwell is doing that."

Nathan Coyle, director of New Union, who is designing the iSandwell platform, said: “Digital is a fantastic tool to improve the lives of the people in our communities, but it has to be incredibly participative to ensure there is a buy in and that is the approach we take with iSandwell."

For more information visit isandwell.org.uk