#WeMakeICTPossible

Aim

WeMakeICTPossible aims to tackle the digital divide and provide ICT resources including internet to children and young people

The pandemic highlighted a number of critical issues nationally and in October 2020, the Musketeers founded the WeMakeICTPossible campaign; a campaign committed to tackling digital poverty by providing ICT equipment and internet to children and young people in the Mansfield and Ashfield area. The campaign arose from appeals for support from local schools and people during the covid pandemic lockdown who were concerned about the number of children and young people without access to a computer, laptop, tablet and internet outside of school. Following a couple of months of gathering research into the issue, the Musketeers discovered that in Mansfield & Ashfield alone around 25% of families had no access to technology, based on survey information from Local Enterprise Partnership organisation, D2N2, and help charity Citizens Advice.

The campaign has since been generously supported by the local community through IT equipment and monetary donations and the campaign has also been successful in receiving grants from the Mayor of Mansfield and Mansfield District Council’s Covid Community Response Network Fund. The campaign has been featured multiple times in the News Journal, Mansfield 103.2 and BBC Radio Nottingham.

 Though the lockdown has ended and students have returned to the classroom, digital poverty still remains a critical issue and the campaign has adapted to also support schools and colleges with the issues around catch up and further students requiring IT equipment to complete additional homework or coursework.

To date, 240 families from 21 schools and colleges across the Mansfield and Ashfield area have received equipment with another 100 laptops and computers being prepped for imminent donation.

This project closed unsuccessfully on 16th September 2021