Discuss best practices, lived experiences, current programmes and understand how everyone can help close the digital divide.
Speakers
- Representative of the Digital Poverty Alliance
- Fiona Dawson, Director at Mayden, BCS Member in the Community in Bath
- Anna Somaiya, Founder and CEO of Anna Consultancy and DiversITy-talent
Agenda
12:00pm - Opening and Welcome – BCS and DPA
12:05pm - Panel discussion with perspectives from: - Beneficiaries of DPA - BCS member in the community - Corporate organisation
12:40pm - Thought Session – participation by attendees
1:00pm - Event Summary and Close
1:10pm - Lunch and Networking
Following this event, the BCS Digital Divide Specialist Group invites you to find out more about the “BCS Member in the Community Stories and AGM” event from 2-3pm UK.
Synopsis
BCS believes that every child and adult deserves access to a world class computing and digital literacy education. The digital divide is a modern measure of inequality which underpins the work that BCS does with the Digital Poverty Alliance to help end digital poverty by 2030.
This session brings corporate organisations and IT teams across the industry together to demonstrate what is working well across programmes run by BCS and DPA to reduce the digital divide gap.
The Digital Poverty Alliance is a leading advocate for transformative change in addressing digital exclusion. Through innovative and impactful programmes, the organisation works to break down barriers to digital access, ensuring that individuals and communities are provided with the essential skills, technology, and connectivity needed to thrive in a digital-first society
We will hear from the DPA on behalf of its beneficiaries , and gain some understanding as to what hasn’t worked well in our current efforts to close the digital divide.
We will hear from BCS members who have been driving initiatives in their communities and identify best practices that can be shared elsewhere.
We will also hear from corporate organisations and IT teams about what help they can offer and what help they need to get involved.
About the speakers
Fiona Dawson, Director at Mayden, BCS Member in the Community in Bath
Fiona Dawson is Director at Mayden. She is passionate about what technology can do to support healthcare and advocates for the health informatics profession, both as a BCS Fellow and FEDIP Leading Practitioner. She holds a degree in Applied Computing from the University of Bath and a Masters in Healthcare Data from Cambridge University. Fiona has lived in Bath all her adult life after falling in love with the city as a student. She is passionate about addressing the digital divide and is involved with bringing together groups of like-minded individuals as Director of the Bath Bridge CIC. Recent projects have supported improved digital access for refugees and digital skills for young people in the city. She is a Digital Poverty Alliance ambassador and also supports the One Healthtech Bristol Hub, promoting diversity and inclusion in the vibrant healthtech community in the local area.
Anna Somaiya, Founder and CEO of Anna Consultancy and DiversITy-talent
Anna is Founder and CEO of Anna Consultancy LLC and DiversITy-talent and Chair Trustee of Alternative Angels. She is an award-winning leader for DE&I and digital innovation with 32 years of experience in digital transformation and cybersecurity. Previously she held roles as CIO, CTO, and CISO, and has worked for the Big 4, leading major technology transformations and championing inclusivity and innovation across various sectors.
Our events are for adults aged 16 years and over.
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If you are attending in person, please familiarise yourself with the Visitor instructions for the BCS London Office.
Please note: if you have any accessibility needs, please let us know via groups@bcs.uk and we’ll work with you to make suitable arrangements.
For overseas delegates who wish to attend the event, please note that BCS does not issue invitation letters.
This event is brought to you by: Digital Divide specialist group