DigiLocal® is an independent registered charity (Reg: 1185746) for the public benefit, to advance the education of young people in the UK from groups that are under-represented within the technology industry, in particular but not exclusively by supporting free technology clubs.
What that means in practice, is that we are supporting communities to run free tech clubs for their young people.
Mission
Our mission is to support a tech club for young people with every community in the UK that would like to provide one.
Why we do it
Research regularly reports that life ambitions being formed ever younger. The most recent suggested that by seven (7) years old, many young people already have their career ambitions severely limited (link to BBC article, link to full report).
To help tackle this our clubs promote the problem solving skills and resilience that are critical to developing a career (specifically in high tech, but actually in any future employment). We do this through self-directed learning within a friendly club environment. We don’t means-test, we don’t have a fixed-term calendar, we don’t hold end-of-term exams; we want to excite young people about the opportunities that high tech can hold for them.
We also recognise that the industry needs to adjust it’s view of young people from diverse backgrounds. Which is why we draw our volunteers mainly from industry, not from teaching or social care backgrounds. We work closely with a number of employers to provide them with a CSR (corporate social responsibility) volunteering ‘package’ for their staff to support local communities.
How we operate
We support and empower those with an interest in technology within their communities. We are also building a community of like minded individuals who wish to open access to technology and coding to all.
We provide a safe, fun, and supportive environment for young people to learn skills that will equip them for technologies that are an increasingly important part of our day-to-day lives. We provide opportunities and choice for people to pick their own path, what they want to learn, and how they want to join in.
Who we work with
We work closely with a range of community and industry partners. All our clubs are hosted by fantastic community partners, and our volunteers are largely from amazing companies that also want to support young people.
If you have a community of young people, and you think they’d enjoy what we have to offer, please check out our Communities page and contact me on the email below.
If you work for an amazing company and would like to support young people, please check out our Industry page and contact me on the email below.
If you are a parent / guardian / grandparent / etc, and know a young person that would benefit from attending one of our clubs, please check out our Parent’s page and contact me on the email below. All our clubs have a waiting list, please don’t turn up to a club hoping for a space as that raises expectations unfairly.
Contact: Dr John Bradford (CEO) john.bradford@digilocal.org.uk
| Registered Address: SETsquared Business Acceleration Centre Engine Shed, Station Approach, Bristol, BS1 6QH |