Martha Lane Fox gives backing to UK IT Industry Awards

Dawinderpal Sahota, Computing, Monday 2 August 2010 at 17:05:00

UK Digital Champion believes awards will boost digital inclusion

The final deadline for entries to the
UK
IT Industry Awards, held by Computing in association with
The Chartered Institute for IT (BCS), is 5pm
this Friday, 6 August.

We caught up with UK Digital Champion and head of
Race Online 2012 Martha Lane Fox, who
is supporting the coveted Digital Inclusion Award.

The Digital Inclusion Award will be awarded to the organisation, in any
sector, that has made a significant contribution to the promotion of digital
inclusion by giving people the skills or the opportunity to use the internet.

The UK currently has 10 million people who are not connected to the internet
and of these four million are also socially excluded.

Fox hopes that the award will raise awareness of the need for digital
inclusion and that it will attract more partnership for Race Online from
organisations in the private, public and third sectors.

?The way that we?re trying to build Race Online is through partnerships.
Anything that can raise the profile of what we?re doing and highlight the best
of what?s happening is absolutely vital,? she said.

?We can moan about all the things that aren?t happening but it?s much better
to celebrate the things that are happening and replicate the best and stamp out
the worst," she said.

"What I?m really hoping is for this award to highlight the projects that are
doing well, learn from them and make sure their stories get told more widely.?

Fox added that she hopes the award goes to ?something, someone or some
project that has gone out of its way to make sure that people in its community
are learning how to use the internet and technology in a way that is really
beneficial.?

The awards ceremony will be held on Thursday 11 November 2010.

Full story at http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2267479/martha-lane-fox-gives-backing