Burmantofts Community Friends (BCF) (previously Burmantofts Senior Action) is a charity supporting older people aged 55+ living in Burmantofts and the surrounding areas. Working with older people, their families, carers and communities, they reduce social isolation and poverty amongst older people, enabling them to live independently in their own homes. Alongside BCF’s targeted work with older people, they also engage with families, carers, young people, and the diverse communities of East Leeds, through partnership and intergenerational projects.

The charity has 10 key objectives:

• Relieve social isolation and loneliness.
• Identify gaps in provisions for support.
• Support older people to live independently.
• Promote social inclusion for all communities.
• Improve digital inclusion and access to support. 
• Try to improve the environment where older people live.
• Be an open and friendly place for local people to drop in.
• Reduce the burden on NHS services with early intervention community care.
• Work with partner organisations who bring additional resources to the area.
• Be a force for good, championing the wishes and needs of older people.

With the support of 100% Digital Leeds, BCF have embedded support for digital inclusion across their programme and now see themselves as a one-stop centre to help older people gain access to digital services.

With funding from various sources including Leeds Digital Inclusion Fund, and most recently a social value grant from Fujitsu, BCF employ an Outreach and Digital Engagement Worker to provide advice and practical support to older people at their community centre, or in people’s homes for those who are housebound or unable to attend the centre. The worker delivers outreach with a focus on supporting people to improve the digital skills and confidence needed to independently engage with wider services. Alongside skills support, the organisation runs a tablet lending library and gifts SIMs with free data via Good Things Foundation’s National Databank.

Burmantofts Community Friends recognise that, for many of their members, lack of trust in people, tools, and services is a significant barrier to engagement. The organisation focuses on building trusted relationships with members, in a space that that members know and where they feel safe. They take a person-centred approach, encouraging members to see digital as an enabler to the things that are important to them. They also take a ‘stealth’ approach to digital engagement, often using ‘low stakes’ creative activities linked to hobbies and interests to encourage members to take their first steps with digital.

As a result, BCF’s initiatives such as their Breakfast and Browser group – a digitally embedded breakfast club, where members can enjoy a hot meal and a conversation with friends, while engaging with devices and online services in a casual environment -have seen massive impact. These activities have provided a welcoming space, a supportive atmosphere and the one-to-one input that BCF have identified as crucial to empowering older people to navigate the digital world effectively.

“Digital engagement matters for older people because it’s not just about technology, it’s about connection, independence, and dignity. Being able to video call a grandchild, manage a GP appointment online, or check a bank balance without relying on someone else isn’t a luxury, it’s a basic part of participating in today’s world. When older people are excluded from that, they’re excluded from more than just the internet – they’re cut off from services, from community, and often from the people they love most.

“Everyone deserves the same opportunities and chances, regardless of age. Older people shouldn’t be left behind simply because the world moved faster than the support did. With the right encouragement, patience, and a safe space to learn, we see time and again that older people are just as capable and curious as anyone else – they just need the door held open. That’s what BCF is here to do.”

CEO, Burmantofts Community Friends

The impact of poverty and digital exclusion

The older people on whom BCF focus their support often have limited social opportunities. Many members are living with loneliness, isolation, long-term health conditions, lack of friends or family support, and have been severely impacted by the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis.

Burmantofts and Richmond Hill is the neighbourhood with the lowest average household income in Leeds. 88% of people in the Burmantofts and Richmond Hill ward live in the most deprived 10% of England. 34.2% of people in the ward are claiming Universal Credit, compared to an average of 16.8% in Leeds. 43% of housing in the ward is social rented, which is twice the Leeds average. 25% of households are experiencing fuel poverty. In 2019 the estimated proportion of pension claimants in Burmantofts and Richmond Hill was 66.4% indicating that the ward has a higher concentration of older people relying on pensions.

Burmantofts and Richmond Hill has the 4^th highest mortality rate in the city, significantly higher than the rest of Leeds. The life expectancy for males is 73 years (4 years lower than the Leeds average) and 77 years for women (5 years lower than the Leeds average). Cancers are the most common cause of death in all ages in Burmantofts and Richmond Hill, and the ward rates 2^nd highest in the city for female premature deaths due to cancer. The ward has the highest rates of COPD in the city, almost double the rate of Leeds as a whole, and the second highest rates of smoking. There are also high rates of hypertension, obesity, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and dementia.

These health and social inequalities are compounded by digital exclusion. The older people supported by Burmantofts Community Friends often struggle to afford smartphones and other digital devices, or reliable wifi and data. Many have no experience of digital and are apprehensive about exploring the use of digital tools and services to access benefits, manage their health, and stay in touch with support networks. This leaves members facing barriers to both accessing services and social opportunities.

“Many of the older people BCF works with have limited to no access to data or equipment, and that is without factoring in the motivation, need or confidence to approach a subject which can be daunting and frightening.

“When this coincides with Burmantofts being an area of high social deprivation and social challenge, this compounds the issue of digital inclusion. Through our work in the community, we estimate 95% of BCF members either weren’t or are currently not digitally engaged.”

CEO, Burmantofts Community Friends

Embedding digital inclusion support across the organisation’s programme

Employing an Outreach and Digital Engagement Worker

“My role fits into three parts. When new people come into the organisation, I sign them up and try to get them engaged in different parts of the organisation or different offers that we have. I also then provide some digital support through Breakfast Browsers and through our drop-in on a Tuesday. The third part of it is helping people, not just with digital enquiries, but also benefits and maximising their incomes as well.”

Outreach and Digital Engagement Worker, Burmantofts Community Friends

In 2022 and 2023 Burmantofts Community Friends received two grants of £10,000 via the Leeds Digital Inclusion Fund. This funding allowed BCF to employ an Outreach and Digital Engagement Worker. The Worker provides digital skills support as an integral part of outreach activity, positioning digital as an enabler to wider outcomes such as health and wellbeing. They provide person-centred support to members which includes support to access the correct benefits, blue badges, travel passes, housing assistance, and utility advice. They also work in partnership with health organisations local GPs and pharmacies, promoting healthy life choices, supporting access to health appointments, and providing services and advice that support local members to make informed choices about their lives and promote independent living

“Our Outreach and Digital Engagement Worker focuses on providing advice and practical support to older people at our social centre, via external visits to those who are housebound or unable to attend our offices, and via telephone and Zoom support.

“We have provided both individual and group digital support, which includes support with benefits, blue badges, travel passes, promoting healthy life choices, access to games, quizzes, entertainment, help with health appointments, housing assistance, utility advice, email and video calls and more.

“Our outreach approach is crucial in engaging new members who lack social confidence, and once a relationship is built, the older person builds their confidence to engage further with us.”

CEO, Burmantofts Community Friends

“I was at a residential living place and a lady said, ‘I won’t be able to contact the doctors anymore. There were signs up saying you have to go on the app and you have to book your appointment digitally’. And so she was fearful that she won’t be able to reach a doctor. And for some older people, they won’t reach out, they won’t engage, because they just don’t want to, or they have that fear.

“I think for us, that is what digital inclusion is, it’s trying to get to those people so that they will engage and they will be supported. We are an organisation that people trust. They trust us, and they come in, and they know that they’re going to be welcomed and treated well.

“Members have that confidence because they know our staff and we’re in that safe space. That’s when they’re most engaged – when they’re with their friends, and with us, because they feel that connection and they feel safe. Then they feel relaxed enough to engage with each other and try new things.”

Outreach and Digital Engagement Worker, Burmantofts Community Friends

“I was contacted by the outreach worker through Covid. Before that, I had three and a half months in hospital, and I’d just come out. It was a neighbour who’d got her number, and I phoned her, and she phoned me once a fortnight.

“We’d be on the phone for nearly an hour, just literally talking about this, that, and the other. When Burmantofts Community Friends opened up again, I came down to their centre. I’ve joined all these different groups like Breakfast and Browsers and Wednesday Lunch Club. It’s been great, and I’ve made new friends.”

Member, Burmantofts Community Friends

Breakfast and Browsers

Funding from the Leeds Digital Inclusion Fund also supported Burmantofts Community Friends to launch ‘Breakfast and Browsers’, a digitally embedded breakfast club, where members can enjoy a hot meal and a conversation with friends, while engaging with devices and online services in a casual environment.

Members who attend Breakfast and Browers are under no pressure to engage with the digital element of the session. For many attendees, the initial draw is the promise of a free breakfast and the company of friends.

“If people just want to come for breakfast, that’s fair enough, but we come for breakfast and digital support, and that’s what we’re called, Breakfast and Browsers. Somebody who’s not involved in the digital elements might see someone else doing it and think, ‘Ooh, I might have a go at that’, and hopefully it’ll rub off on them.”

Member, Burmantofts Community Friends

Once individual members have settled into the group the Outreach and Digital Engagement Worker and other group attendees gently encourage the member to begin engaging with digital at their own pace, and in an enjoyable ‘low stakes’ context.

Members are given one-to-one support to explore digital tools related to their personal hobbies and interests. This method of identifying a particular pastime enjoyed by an individual, then introducing related digital tools, means members take their first steps with digital in the context of something they find enjoyable, and they immediately see personal benefit.

“One member is a keen birdwatcher and is often photographing birds. She’s got a little app on her phone now that lets her identify the birdsong, and identify which bird is singing, which is brilliant. So I end up spending time learning from them, it’s like, ‘Wow, that’s amazing, can I have a go?’”.

Outreach and Digital Engagement Worker, Burmantofts Community Friends

The Outreach and Digital Engagement Worker introduces group projects to the Breakfast and Browsers sessions, focusing on creative projects likely to be of interest to all members. Examples include the group’s involvement in supporting older people’s digital confidence with University of Leeds’s Writing Back project, an intergenerational digital pen pal project which pairs students at the University of Leeds with older residents across Yorkshire to exchange emails, and a Breakfast and Browsers group trip to Wetherspoons where members were shown how to order their own breakfasts via the Wetherspoons QR code and app.

“We did a project where we asked people to just reflect on their childhood, and where they grew up, and things like that, and we encouraged them to use Google to find old photos of the streets or the areas they grew up in. So it got them using technology for something they enjoyed and were interested in. Rather than, ‘I need to use it, and I hate it, it’s ‘Let’s see what we can find’. We put a positive spin on it, and that’s what makes it really successful.”

Outreach and Digital Engagement Worker, Burmantofts Community Friends

Members are encouraged to form new friendships and support each other by chatting about how they use digital tools and the difference this makes for them, as well as helping to upskill others.

“We had a session on Instagram a couple of weeks ago and one of our members was saying, ‘Oh, right, I’m on Instagram, I’m on it’. And then another member was saying, ‘Oh, well, how do you get me on it?’ and they were navigating it as a group. 

“They like to help each other and they will say, ‘How do you go on with that?’ There is a lot of companionship, it’s not just, ‘This is my device, I’m not going to share it’. They’re all chatting to each other about, ‘Oh, have you tried this? And have you done that?’ 

“I think that’s one of the benefits of having a group session, because you do form friendships. Now, when they go away, if they’ve got a question, they have the opportunity to message each other or reach out and say, ‘How did we do that? Can you just let me know?’ or ‘I’m struggling posting this picture, can you remember how we did it?’ They can go away and do it themselves without actually needing us because they’ve got that friendship and connection.

“We’ve got a WhatsApp group as well, so if any of the members have got a question, they can pop it in there and anyone can come on and say, ‘Oh, you do it this way’ or ‘I can help you if you come to lunch group on Thursday’. So they can always help each other constantly by having that technology and having that communication with each other.”

Outreach and Digital Engagement Worker, Burmantofts Community Friends

The Outreach and Digital Engagement Worker also uses tools such as Learn My Way – Good Things Foundation’s free digital skills online learning platform – to bring more structured digital skills learning into Breakfast and Browsers sessions.

“I’ve had a lot of feedback from Breakfast Browsers that they really enjoyed doing Learn My Way. I think the reason they enjoyed it was because it was set activities, it was online and the staff were there to support them through it. They like it being structured.

“For example, part one is looking at emails. Part two might be Facebook and social media. Part three might be WhatsApp. They liked the idea of it being a course that they can join.

“We do have files from previous Learn My Way and it shows every time they did a task or they ticked it, or when they wrote what they did and how they did it, so they could see that progression.”

Outreach and Digital Engagement Worker, Burmantofts Community Friends

The group also occasionally invite visitors to Breakfast and Browers. To celebrate Get Online Week 2025, Good Things Foundation’s annual digital inclusion campaign, 100% Digital Leeds and NHS England worked in partnership to increase support for people in Leeds to use the NHS app.

NHS England’s NHS app team used their employer-supported volunteering hours to deliver NHS app digital support sessions with four third sector partner organisations in Leeds, including BCF. The NHS app volunteers attended Breakfast and Browsers to share information on navigating the different features of the app, as well as a step-by-step walkthrough of the log in process, including how to access a security code sent via email without having to leave the app. They also showed people how to log in on other devices via the browser version, which has the same features as the app version.

Many Breakfast and Browsers members had already signed up and were using the NHS app after receiving regular support from the staff at BCF.

“It was good to meet the NHS app team and hear more about the app. People fed back to them about how they use it and the features they’ve found challenging. We have lots of members who attend our lunch club that would benefit from help with it and would love a future visit from the team.”

Outreach and Digital Engagement Worker, Burmantofts Community Friends

Over time, Breakfast and Browsers became so popular that BCF needed to hire a local venue with more space.

“Moving to a bigger space for our Breakfast and Browsers group has brought a significant improvement in how our activities run.

“The additional room has allowed us to set up dedicated areas for different projects, which makes it easier for participants to focus and engage in their work. The increased space has also facilitated better organisation, allowing us to create a more comfortable and welcoming environment for everyone involved.

“This change has been especially beneficial as it has made it easier to accommodate more members, fostering a sense of community, collaboration and friendship.”

CEO, Burmantofts Community Friends

Sharing learning via Leeds Arts & Culture Digital Inclusion Pilot

In 2025, 100% Digital Leeds worked with the University of Sheffield on a research project funded by Arts Council England, exploring whether participation in digital arts and culture could serve as an initial first step for older people to become more confident with a broader range of digital tools and services. As part of the project, 100% Digital Leeds developed a toolkit advising arts and culture organisations, older people’s services, and digital inclusion specialists on how they can collaborate and embed digital elements into creative activities.

Burmantofts Community Friends were invited to provide a case study, sharing their knowledge as a community organisation who have seen the value in addressing digital inclusion through a cultural lens, demonstrating how arts and culture can act as a ‘perfect hook’ to engage older people in digital inclusion. The case study gives an overview of BCF’s creative approaches to supporting digital skills and confidence. This includes work with Skippko, who ran digital photography workshops for members, with lessons around the storing, printing and sharing of digital images. They also used Canva to create an exhibition of members’ own personal histories, using digital devices to interview and record each other.

“We’ve done different projects, we’ve done online shopping, comparison sites, we’ve been on Learn My Way which is a site that you can go on and learn different things. And then there’s Canva, which we do presentations on, when we have parties and things. I did know a little bit, but since I’ve been coming here, I’m not having to ask family for advice. You’re never too old to learn. And you find that the more we do in group, the more we use it at home, as well.”

Member, Burmantofts Community Friends

“One of our members did a lot of woodwork and craft, so will often look up images like a football club logo online, so then he can draw it or paint it. So it’s about finding out what their hobbies and interests are and how we can help them with that, but then on the flip side, we try and think about what digital skills might be useful for them, that they don’t know about.”

Outreach and Digital Engagement Worker, Burmantofts Community Friends

Providing access to digital equipment

In 2024, BCF received a capital grant from UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), which they used to purchase phones, laptops, tablets and accessories for their members who were experiencing a lack of digital equipment as a barrier to engaging with digital.

“The digital equipment given to us through this support has enabled BCF to enhance our charity’s reach, efficiency, and impact. It has enabled digital support for older people, helped reduce social isolation, boost confidence, and provided better access to essential services and entertainment. This has led to greater independence and a higher quality of life.

“The equipment has helped the people we support by increasing their digital inclusion, enabling them to stay connected, access essential services, and build confidence online. With one-to-one support, they have learned basic skills alongside how to use video calls to reduce isolation, manage healthcare and banking online, and explore new interests.

“This independence improves their quality of life, helping them do what matters most, whether it’s keeping in touch with family, shopping online, or enjoying digital entertainment.”

Outreach and Digital Engagement Worker, Burmantofts Community Friends

Social value support

Burmantofts Community Friends relies on continued external funding and resources to support the delivery of their digital inclusion offer. The organisation is committed to delivering digital skills sessions as they can see the benefit to their community but they face financial challenges to ongoing delivery.

“One thing that does stop us doing more is the funding. I would love to have loads of iPads that we can get out and be creative, arts and crafts and activities on different cultures. But unfortunately, we just don’t have that funding to do that.

“When you’re asking members to come in with their own devices, sometimes they have a basic phone, sometimes they don’t really have a good phone that can do that kind of artwork or support a particular app. It is a hard balance on what we can do and what we really want to do with them because it’s just the funding, the equipment and resources that limit us.”

Outreach and Digital Engagement Worker, Burmantofts Community Friends

With the support of 100% Digital Leeds, Burmantofts Community Friends has received support from businesses such as Accenture, Axiologik, Sky, and Fujitsu.

Employer supported volunteering from Accenture

In 2023, 100% Digital Leeds, Leeds Community Foundation, Voluntary Action Leeds, and Leeds Digital Ball worked together to convene a roundtable discussion to explore how skills within the tech and digital sector could be passed into the community sector to help address the digital divide. At the roundtable, BCF formed a partnership with Accenture, who helped them with skills and capacity as part of their Corporate Social Volunteering scheme.

The volunteers helped the organisation to provide more one-to-one support to learners along with faster, more effective guidance on technical troubleshooting. The volunteers also helped the Outreach and Digital Engagement Worker to develop their own digital skills and confidence to better support BCF’s members. Accenture’s commitment to supporting Burmantofts Community Friends over a significant length of time, and providing the same volunteers week on week, allowed the volunteers and members to form trusted relationships, making members feel comfortable asking for help without fear of judgement. This support with skills and capacity meant Burmantofts Community Friends have been able to take a more creative approach to digital inclusion, designing and delivering projects that are meaningful and engaging for members who otherwise might be reluctant to try digital.

“I wouldn’t be able to survive doing this type of digital work without the volunteers, because you need a lot of time for each individual person. Sometimes people find doing new things stressful, and with the volunteers we have extra capacity that means we’re able to give people the support they need.”

Outreach and Digital Engagement Worker, Burmantofts Community Friends

“I’ve worked on systems for the NHS or GP booking systems and they’re brilliant, but if you’ve had no training or practice and experience, you’re becoming increasingly excluded from that, and that’s horrible for people. They’re exactly the people who would get the most out of digital services, if they don’t have to walk to the post office or they don’t have to get a bus into town to go to the nearest bank. They’d get the most out of it but they’re the ones excluded.”

Full Stack Engineering Associate Manager, Accenture

Employer supported volunteering from Axiologik

In 2025100% Digital Leeds invited BCF to the 2025 Digital Volunteering Matchmaking Event, hosted by  Leeds Digital Volunteering Partnership. The matchmaking event’s aim is to foster collaboration between Leeds’s charity and tech sectors, increasing the city’s capacity to support digital inclusion. 

At the matchmaking event BCF connected with Leeds tech company Axiologik, who had previously supported digital inclusion sessions at Southlands Retirement Apartments. The organisation was keen to work with organisations in Leeds through its Employee Volunteering Programme, allowing them to see the benefits for both the people they support and the organisation itself. They have developed their relationship with BCF and now offer once-a-month digital skills sessions. This has increased capacity for digital delivery for BCF and enabled Axiologik staff to see the positive impact their support has on BCF’s members through increased digital skills and confidence.

Employer supported volunteering, wifi and equipment from Sky

BCF have also developed a long-term relationship with Sky. Staff from Sky attend sessions weekly, supporting with various topics such as the NHS app and transport apps. Sky also supports BCF with free public wifi for local residents to use, funding towards group activities, and recycled digital equipment.

“If there’s any opportunities where people can come in and teach or upskill our members, we will always approach them. Because we can do the basic stuff or help people as much as we can, but sometimes there are things that we can’t do – but that doesn’t mean it should stop us. 

“We have Sky volunteers with us, they’re from the call centre and the engineering team, they can come and help and they have that knowledge to give us. Sky has the opportunity for staff to do volunteer days in their policy, so any member of staff can request to volunteer. And then sometimes they do fund us as well.”

Outreach and Digital Engagement Worker, Burmantofts Community Friends

“I work in the IT field, so I feel like I’ve got something to offer to them. And on the flip side, it’s good for me, because since Covid I work from home. Other than seeing my partner every day I rarely see anyone. So this is absolutely brilliant for me, it’s getting out, it’s seeing people again.”

Sky volunteer

Funding from Fujitsu

In 2026, Burmantofts Community Friends was awarded a grant from Fujitsu, via their social value commitment to Leeds City Council. BCF has used this funding to create a role of Engagement Worker (Membership and Digital), which, for the digital element of the role, will focus on four main deliverables:

1. Supporting the weekly Breakfast and Browsers group, with themed sessions and guest talks.
2. Offering one-to-one drop-in support at a local Leeds City Council Community Hub.
3. Running a loan and gifting library for tech devices.
4. Creating a bespoke digital learning course.

This much needed financial support means Burmantofts Community Friends continues to have the staff capacity to deliver and expand on the digital inclusion support from which so many members benefit.

Next Steps

Burmantofts Community Friends continues to seek partnerships to support their groups with digital engagement, with an eye on their newer activities such as training courses and one-to-one drop-ins. They are also seeking support and knowledge around CiviCRM databases and are interested in exploring the possibility of developing a BCF app for their members. 100% Digital Leeds will continue to support BCF with their digital inclusion aims and objectives.

Case Studies

Member W

“Member W had just come out of being in hospital for over three months during Covid when we engaged with them. A member of staff phoned them every fortnight. When the doors opened again they joined multiple groups including the digital skills group. They did a photography project where they were able to practice their digital skills and are encouraged keep in touch with each other digitally. Member W now uses Google to look up information, including health information to make sure that they are informed before going to the chemist or the doctors. They have also been supported to do online banking, which has been useful as the local banks were closing. They use apps for identifying birds and plants and also to do online shopping and contact their local councillors.”

Member X

“Member X approached us during what she described as the lowest point in her life. Although she was still employed, her illness had rendered her unable to work. One of her primary concerns was obtaining support in claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and managing her Universal Credit (UC) claim online. Due to her lack of confidence in navigating the digital realm, she found these tasks particularly challenging. We were able to assist her in applying for PIP and managing her UC claim, providing the necessary ongoing support to ensure she felt secure and informed throughout the process. With our help, Member X’s circumstances began to improve significantly. She has now become an active member of BCF and regularly attends our group sessions. The transformation has been remarkable; from feeling overwhelmed and isolated, she now enjoys a renewed sense of confidence and empowerment. She credits our team for this positive change, expressing gratitude for the consistent support and guidance we offered her. Today, Member X is capable of managing daily tasks that once seemed insurmountable, such as handling bills and keeping track of upcoming appointments. She frequently shares that discovering our organisation at her lowest point was a turning point in her life. With the support of BCF and our dedicated team, she has not only regained control over her financial and administrative responsibilities but also found a supportive community that has enriched her life in countless ways.”

Member Y

“Member Y’s journey into the digital world began with a strong desire to overcome her initial apprehensions about getting online. Initially, she had little to no digital skills and
felt frightened by the idea of having wifi at home. Nonetheless, her determination to learn led her to attend all digital sessions, including both the Breakfast and Browser
sessions and the Digital Drop-in sessions. Her dedication to improving her digital literacy has been unwavering, and it has paid off significantly. With access to a tablet and being part of the national databank for phone top-ups, Member Y has made substantial progress. She has diligently completed numerous learning modules with Learn My Way, which has bolstered her confidence in using digital devices. This newfound expertise has been particularly crucial given her recent cancer diagnosis; she has learned to navigate the NHS app, which is vital for managing her health. Additionally, she regularly visits online support groups for her arthritis, finding
solace and information in these communities. Member Y’s enthusiasm for digital learning extends to participating in various projects and acquiring a wide range of skills,
Her story is a testament to the empowering nature of digital literacy and her incredible resilience and dedication to self-improvement.”

100% Digital Leeds is working in partnership with Shift.ms to deliver a webinar giving community organisations a first look at the Shift.ms app.

The Shift.ms app is available across Leeds to support those newly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis – typically those in their 20s or 30s – by connecting them with others who understand what they’re going through, offering health resources, community forums, and personalised peer support through a Buddy Network. Support is available for free, 24/7, 365 days a year through the app and there is a digital community of over 85,000 members across the UK.

The webinar will take place on Wednesday 7^th October 10am-10.30am on Microsoft Teams.

For more information, or to book your space, visit The Shift.ms app for newly diagnosed people with multiple sclerosis (MS) on Eventbrite

Delivered in partnership with Victoria Kirk, Head of Growth and Transformation at Shift.ms, the webinar will cover:

• More information about the features and benefits of the app 
• How you can support people to download and use the app 
• Information about what digital inclusion support is available across the city to signpost people to 

Benefits of the app: 

Founded by MSers, for MSers in 2024, Shift.ms offer social and emotional support, inspiring MSers to take charge of their health as soon as possible after diagnosis.  Shift.ms aims to minimise the negative impact of diagnosis on quality of life.

This free app can help to:

• Increase social connections with people with lived experience
• Improve emotional health
• Increase self-efficacy
• Support you to adapt to your diagnosis and better manage your health
• Access useful information about how to live with MS
• Connect you with a trained peers (buddies) who have lived with MS over 2 years

Impact:

• 90% of members have seen improved social connections
• 81% of members felt improved emotional wellbeing
• 80% of members were more confident and motivated in managing their health

 “I’ve talked with so many awesome people who are going through this with me and it’s amazing to have others who understand.” 

Shift.ms app user

How to access the app: 

Anyone living in the UK can search for the Shift.ms app in the app store of their mobile device and download it:

• By visiting The Shift.ms App – Your MS Community in a web browser. 
• Via a signpost from their GP. 

Please note: People need an email address and a device to register. Once accessed, people can create an account to start using the app.   

Supporting people with barriers to digital inclusion  

Organisations can use 100% Digital Leeds’s Community Support Directory to identify where to signpost people to support with digital inclusion, such as accessing free wifi, devices, data sims, and digital skills support. Further resources to support people with digital health tools can be found on the 100% Digital Leeds Digital Inclusion Delivery Resources GoogleDrive. 

Afrikindness is a charity dedicated to nurturing positive racial identity and social-emotional development in racially marginalised children and young people. They support families from African and ethnically diverse communities in Leeds. Their mission is to help these individuals reach their full potential. Run by passionate volunteers, Afrikindness offers impactful programs including parent training, children’s academies, and community engagement initiatives.

They have four collaborative workstreams:

• Education: Led by UK teachers, this stream creates inclusive content for schools, focusing on identity in children and young people.
• Parent Support: Conducts informative sessions, webinars, and daily drop-in support, equipping parents with positive parenting tools to support their children.
• Children’s Team: Supports social-emotional development through mentoring and training, empowering racially marginalised youth.
• Research: Bridges the gap between community and research, exploring racial identity, social profiling, neurodiversity, and mental health.

Afrikindness work in partnership with the Leeds African Community Trust, Winners Chapel and over 15 affiliated African and Caribbean community and other faith groups where they promote their projects to parents most in need of support.

Afrikindness’s digital inclusion offer positions digital inclusion as an enabler to improving outcomes for African families by embedding support for improved digital skills, confidence, and access across their programme. The organisation aims to remove the digital barriers that prevent many families – particularly those from African and ethnically diverse backgrounds – from fully participating in today’s digital society. Afrikindness have a particular interest in supporting online safety, linked with their mission to build safer communities, support parents, and improve outcomes for children and young people, particularly within communities that can be underserved by mainstream services.

“Afrikindness’s ultimate goal is to create a thriving community of digitally literate parents who can easily access and utilise digital resources. This will lead to thriving parents who have easy access to resources and information, better access to community support, and who feel less socially isolated.”

Afrikindness

The impact of digital exclusion

Afrikindness have gathered feedback from parents and community leaders indicating that many parents do not know how to use digital tools effectively, leading to challenges in accessing vital resources.

The parents and communities Afrikindness work with are digitally excluded in several ways: 

• Limited access to devices: A significant number of parents do not have access to digital devices, making it difficult for them to participate in online activities or support their children’s digital education.
• Connectivity issues: Many households lack reliable internet access, further hindering their ability to engage with online services and resources.
• Lack of digital skills: Many parents struggle with basic digital tasks such as completing online forms, scanning QR codes, registering for events online, participating in webinars and online workshops, and navigating websites for resources like mental health support or GP registration.
• Lack of confidence in navigating misinformation and disinformation: Information often circulates through WhatsApp groups, faith networks, family groups, and diaspora communities. Messages shared by trusted contacts are rarely questioned. As a result, misinformation spreads quickly and is often believed.

Many of the families Afrikindness support also face wider challenges related to poverty, welfare, family responsibilities and settlement in the UK.

Taking an embedded, culturally responsive approach to supporting digital inclusion

Afrikindness delivers digital inclusion through a holistic, community-centred approach, recognising that digital skills development is most effective when combined with practical support that addresses wider social and economic challenges faced by families.

Digital inclusion is positioned as an enabler to outcomes that are meaningful for families

For many of the families Afrikindness supports, digital inclusion is rarely the most urgent issue faced. Parents are often focused on more immediate concerns, such as food poverty, managing household finances, ensuring their children attend and succeed at school, and addressing wider welfare and wellbeing needs. When engaging families with digital inclusion, Afrikindness speak to parents about how improved digital skills, access, and confidence will help them to do the things that are important to them. Putting digital inclusion into a meaningful context means parents and families are more likely to engage and participate.

“For the majority of the families we support, digital inclusion is not their most immediate need. Their immediate concern is, ‘How do I take care of my children? How do I put food on the table? How do I make sure that my children go to school? How do I make sure they do well?’

“That’s why we deliver digital skills in a way that helps parents address those real-life priorities, making digital inclusion meaningful and relevant to their everyday lives.

“Alongside our digital inclusion programme, we also support eligible families to access welfare support through initiatives such as the Household Support Fund (HSF), administered by Forum Central, as well as other available support schemes. Through our wider Community Empowerment Programme, we work holistically with parents on areas including neurodiversity, safeguarding, mental health, parenting and wellbeing.

“By supporting the whole family – not just their digital skills – we help build confident parents, resilient families and the nurturing homes every child deserves.”

Bunmi Owolabi, CEO, Afrikindness

Digital inclusion is embedded across Afrikindness’s wider programme

The organisation has embedded digital inclusion into their existing support work, helping those with limited digital literacy or access to gain the skills and tools they need to engage meaningfully with technology.

Digital inclusion is now a key strand of Afrikindness’s Community Empowerment Programme for parents, caregivers, and community leaders. Afrikindness’s ‘Nourish and Empower’ project is focused on providing food vouchers to parents who rely on food banks, particularly during the summer holidays when food banks are often closed, and on equipping families with much-needed digital skills training to reduce digital exclusion. The organisation has also addressed digital exclusion via their Young People’s Leadership Academy which aims to develop social and emotional intelligence skills that help children thrive and develop into kind, well-rounded adults.

Accessible digital skills sessions in trusted spaces

Sessions are delivered in trusted local spaces such as Community Hubs in areas of the city that are convenient for local families. Workshops take a conversational, discussion-based learning method rather than formal classroom teaching, incorporating community languages to ensure accessibility for all families.

“It’s been a lovely atmosphere with kindness and no judgement, and I’ve made friends so we can all be better parents together and help each other.”

Learner, Afrikindness

Delivered by trainers and volunteers parents know and trust

At Afrikindness, digital skills support is delivered by trained facilitators and volunteers who are known to, and trusted by, the community. This approach helps to ensure participation, particularly for families who may not normally engage with formal training environments.

Formal digital skills courses are delivered by a skilled volunteer tutor who brings a wealth of experience, cultural understanding, and a community-centred approach to supporting learners. Afrikindness’s 10-week digital skills course is designed to support parents to build essential digital skills, boost confidence, and stay connected in an increasingly digital world. Sessions focus on practical skills that help people to overcome barriers preventing them from engaging fully with digital services and opportunities.

Afrikindness has also appointed Community Digital Coaches to provide hands-on support to participants in a language they understand, helping them overcome digital barriers, build confidence, and apply their learning in practical ways. Community Digital Coaches are members of the Afrikindness community who have attended digital skills training and are now ready to support others. Their day-to-day guidance ensures that learners receive personalised support tailored to their individual needs and digital goals.

“A Community Digital Coach is someone within the community, someone who has gone through the training, and is able to now coach parents beyond the more formal training sessions. We have Coaches who can support people in their own language, such as Arabic, so they can easily talk to and engage parents. The Coaches support drop-ins for those who need one-to-one support, or parents can call them directly when they need help with anything digital.”

Bunmi Owolabi, CEO, Afrikindness

Encouraging parents to use Learn My Way to continue their learning at home

Afrikindness encourage parents to engage with online learning opportunities to continue their learning outside of the classroom.

As members of The National Digital Inclusion Network Afrikindness have access to Learn My Way, Good Things Foundation’s digital skills eLearning platform. Learn My Way modules are interactive and involve a lot of videos, so it is difficult for people to properly engage on a smartphone. If learners are interested in Learn My Way but don’t have a laptop at home, they can borrow one from Afrikindness.

“Learn My Way is a really useful tool for supporting people to continue their learning outside of formal learning sessions. One of our laptops is with a parent at the moment because she wants to work her way through all of the Learn My Way modules. Some of our parents with teenage children have mentioned that their children now sit with them, and they complete the Learn My Way modules together.”

Bunmi Owolabi, CEO, Afrikindness

Improved access to digital equipment and connectivity

Due to lack of access to equipment Afrikindness initially held their workshops at Leeds City Council Community Hubs, making the most of desktop computers available to the public. While this partnership was appreciated, the organisation found that hosting workshops in spaces open to the public limited the organisation’s options in terms of delivery methods and when sessions could take place.

100% Digital Leeds supported Afrikindness to acquire a bank of 30 laptops via funding and donations:

• AWS and GIPSIL: Amazon Web Services (AWS) donated 35 laptops to Leeds VCSE GIPSIL, who were generous enough to distribute laptops through a number of partner organisations to people who needed them to access employment and housing, including gifting five laptops to Afrikindness.
• Fujitsu: Fujitsu donated 15 reconditioned laptops as part of their social value commitment to Leeds City Council.
• UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF): 100% Digital Leeds awarded a grant via the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to purchase a further 15 laptops and a lockable charging cabinet.
• Jangala: Jangala gave an indefinite loan of five ‘Get Box’ portable wifi solutions.

This support has enabled Afrikindness to expand their digital skills delivery across a wider range of community spaces, allowing the organisation much more flexibility.

“Having access to a bank of laptops has significantly increased our capacity to deliver digital inclusion support. We are now able to continue delivering structured digital skills training to parents, run more online and hybrid sessions, support families with practical, hands-on learning and reach participants who were previously unable to engage.

“The equipment has also helped us move from awareness to sustained engagement, allowing parents to practise what they learn in real time and build long-term confidence.

“The provision of digital equipment has not only improved access but has strengthened participation, learning outcomes, and our ability as an organisation to deliver meaningful and ongoing digital inclusion support within the community.” 

Bunmi Owolabi, CEO, Afrikindness

Afrikindness has also been supported to access laptops and Get Boxes for the families they support:

“The gift of a laptop has made a significant difference to the families we support. For many of our community of parents, this was their first access to a personal laptop, which has immediately reduced digital exclusion within their households. Parents who previously could not engage online are now able to participate in training sessions, access information, and build their digital confidence.

“Importantly, the impact has extended to their children. With access to devices, many young people are now able to engage with our educational platforms such as GCSEPod, which we provide to support their learning. This has strengthened learning at home and enabled parents to play a more active role in their children’s education.”

Bunmi Owolabi, CEO, Afrikindness

Launch of the first 10-week Digital Inclusion Programme

In April 2026, Afrikindness proudly launched its first 10-Week Digital Inclusion Beginners Programme at the Reginald Centre in Leeds, marking an important milestone in their commitment to reducing digital exclusion within communities.

The programme attracted 15 parents and carers, who attended weekly sessions from April to July 2026 with enthusiasm and a genuine desire to improve their digital skills. What began as a classroom-based training programme quickly evolved into a supportive learning community, where participants gained confidence, shared experiences and encouraged one another throughout their digital journey.

Designed for complete beginners, the programme combined practical, hands-on learning with real-life digital tasks to ensure participants could confidently apply their new skills beyond the classroom. Each session included opportunities to practise using laptops and digital devices, access online services, create and manage email accounts, search the internet safely, complete online forms and build awareness of online safety, scams and cyber security.

To support continuous learning, participants completed a weekly learning check-in, allowing them to reflect on what they had learned, identify areas where they needed additional support and celebrate their progress. Alongside the formal training sessions, learners were encouraged to attend digital drop-in sessions facilitated by the Community Digital Coach, where they received one-to-one guidance, practised newly acquired skills and built confidence at their own pace in a relaxed environment.

As part of the programme, every participant was enrolled onto Learn My Way, a nationally recognised online learning platform offering free digital skills courses. Learners used the platform to reinforce classroom learning, complete additional modules independently and continue practising essential digital skills between sessions, helping to strengthen their confidence and promote lifelong learning.

The programme concluded with a practical digital skills assessment, designed to give participants the opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge and skills they had developed throughout the course. Rather than being an exam, the assessment focused on everyday digital tasks and enabled trainers to understand each learner’s level of confidence, identify those ready to progress to the next stage of training, and recognise anyone who would benefit from additional support before moving forward.

The successful completion of the Foundation Programme not only celebrated the achievements of the participants but also demonstrated the value of community-led digital inclusion, providing parents with the confidence, skills and support needed to participate more fully in an increasingly digital world.

“We just finished a 10-week Digital Inclusion Foundation course for parents, with brilliant feedback. They took a bit to warm up, but it turned into a great two-way conversation, with parents sharing their own stories and experiences that helped everything click.

“We also covered misinformation vs disinformation and how to stay safe from scams and hackers – really relevant given how much of these parents now navigate for their kids too. They engaged really well here, adding their own examples along the same lines.

“Overall, storytelling, real-life examples, and strong engagement from the parents made this a course that really landed.”

Amrjit Matharu, Digital Inclusion Lead Trainer, Afrikindness 

Supporting improved digital skills and confidence with QFutures Community Fund

With the support of 100% Digital Leeds, Afrikindness are one of four charities in Leeds to secure funding via Leeds Community Foundation and Quickline’s QFutures Community Fund. This targeted funding is designed to support community organisations in Leeds and Bradford that work with children, young people, and families to develop digital skills and enhance employability. At the time of publishing, Afrikindness are starting to deliver year two of this three-year project.

Embedding digital support into welfare provision

The grant has enabled Afrikindness to embed digital inclusion into their welfare provision. Afrikindness’s welfare provision helps families facing financial hardship and multiple vulnerabilities with essential support. Because the welfare provision is delivered by the organisation’s Community Digital Coaches, as well as providing immediate support in the form of food vouchers, they can also talk to families about how developing their digital skills and confidence will help them to access a wider range of services and improve their situation, and direct them to the organisation’s digital skills sessions.

Embedding digital skills support into the Community Empowerment Programme

The grant has also enabled Afrikindness to strengthen digital inclusion within African and minority communities in Leeds by delivering digital skills training, digital literacy education, and ongoing support to parents and families. The project supports increased confidence in using digital tools, improving access to online services, supporting children’s digital education, and promoting safe and informed online engagement.

The workshops formed part of Afrikindness’s Community Empowerment Programme. The programme offers training, mentoring, and leadership development for parents passionate about making a difference in their communities.

To support delivery, Afrikindness recruited two volunteers to strengthen project capacity, including a Volunteer Digital Support Lead and a Community Leader who is supporting outreach, engagement, and programme delivery within the community.

The first delivery round of the five-module digital skills programme supported 30 parents to develop the digital skills they need to thrive, from basic digital literacy to becoming confident, independent, and digitally skilled users.

As part of the project Afrikindness gifted laptops to a number of families unable to afford their own device, and the team continues to provide one-to-one support to ensure families benefit from digital access at home.

Across the sessions parents shared meaningful improvements in their digital confidence and everyday skills. Key benefits reported include increased confidence in using laptops, reduced fear, anxiety, and hesitation around technology, and greater motivation to continue practising and using digital tools effectively.

“With over 30 parents now actively participating, this five-module training is already boosting confidence, building digital skills, and helping families support their children’s learning. Strengthening parents’ digital skills directly strengthens children’s development, giving them better access to resources, safer online environments, and improved support at home.” 

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Parents are now increasingly supporting their children’s education by accessing GCSEPod, an online learning platform that Afrikindness offers to students. The training has helped parents gain confidence in using laptops and in their ability to support their children with schoolwork.

“Before the sessions, I was scared of even opening my laptop. Now I log in confidently, help my child find GCSEPod videos, and even use the internet safely. This training has changed my life, and I will still continue with the training.”

Learner, Afrikindness

Embedding digital skills support into the Young People’s Leadership Academy

Quickline also provided in-kind support, delivering a Teen Digital Skills Workshop. The workshop fed into Afrikindness’s Young People’s Leadership Academy which aims to develop social and emotional intelligence skills that help children thrive and develop into kind, well-rounded adults.

The session covered a range of subjects including cyberbullying, avoiding fake news and phishing, awareness of sharing information online safely, the importance of managing screen time, and digital jobs of the future.

Quickline also offered participants access to their virtual work experience portal, designed to help young people explore career opportunities, develop key skills, and gain valuable insights into different industries. The portal immerses users in five key departments at Quickline: Marketing, Human Resources, Engineering, Data, and IT. Each business area presents a series of practical challenges and real-world tasks designed to simulate the day-to-day responsibilities of professionals in that field.

“Afrikindness is proud to announce the successful delivery of a highly engaging and transformative Teen Digital Skills Workshop, facilitated by Connor Moore, Social Value Executive from Quickline Communications. The full-day session empowered young people with the knowledge, awareness, and confidence to navigate the digital world safely while exploring future career opportunities in the digital sector. The workshop was interactive, practical, and youth-focused, incorporating quizzes, group discussions, real-life scenarios, and open conversations. It was fantastic to see our teens actively engage, ask questions, and reflect on their digital habits and aspirations.”

Bunmi Owolabi, CEO, Afrikindness

Tackling misinformation and disinformation with Connecting and Protecting Communities

Afrikindness were one of five community organisations to partner with 100% Digital Leeds on Connecting and Protecting Communities.

Financed by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), Connecting and Protecting Communities aims to give organisations the tools they need to support people and communities to develop the transferable skills needed to spot and be critical of misinformation and disinformation.

100% Digital Leeds partnered with Afrikindness to understand how to tailor media literacy messaging and learning delivery to resonate with, and be accessible and engaging for, families from African and ethnically diverse communities in Leeds. Afrikindness identified parents with whom they had existing trusted relationships to take part in the project, via their Community Empowerment Programme.

Afrikindness knows that their parents may be more susceptible to misinformation and disinformation, and it can have a deeper impact, due to:

• Language barriers and cultural interpretations of information.
• Lower trust in institutions.
• Reliance on peer networks.

Tackling misinformation and disinformation is a priority for Afrikindness as many of their families have been affected by online scams, harmful rumours, and culturally targeted false narratives.

For many parents across the Afrikindness community, information often circulates through WhatsApp groups, faith networks, and family and friend groups. Messages shared by these trusted contacts are rarely questioned.

“It is hard to challenge information or sources sometimes. We come from a different country, things are different back in Africa, we need to adapt and adjust to broaden our thinking and upskill ourselves, so we are more confident to identify misinformation and disinformation.”

Learner, Afrikindness

Parents have frequently approached the organisation after being scammed, children having behavioural challenges and being exposed to harmful online content, and panic caused by rumours spread online.

“Examples shared by participants included fake supermarket voucher links offering £100 rewards, COVID-19 ‘cure’ rumours and claims that vaccines are designed to harm certain communities, scam emails requesting payments or personal information, and impersonation messages from ‘friends’ requesting urgent money.

“Participants explained they often forwarded messages ‘to help others’ without realising the harm.”

Afrikindness Connecting and Protecting Communities Report

As a result, Afrikindness is aware that misinformation can spread quickly and is often believed by many of their community. Without the skills to critically analyse information, parents may unknowingly share harmful content or become victims of scams.

Parents also expressed concerns around their children accessing misinformation and disinformation.

“We recognise that digital safety is now an essential part of modern safeguarding and parenting. Supporting families today requires more than providing access to devices. We need the skills ourselves. Our children are advanced online, we don’t know everything they know online, and we want to be confident in helping them, showing them and keeping them safe as well as ourselves”.

Bunmi Owolabi, CEO, Afrikindness

Taking a train-the-trainer approach to tackling misinformation and disinformation

“The project shows that tackling misinformation and disinformation requires more than providing information. It requires trust, cultural understanding, and community engagement.”

Afrikindness Connecting and Protecting Communities Report

Afrikindness adopted an interactive community learning approach to delivering the project. They chose to host their sessions at the Reginald Centre Community Hub in Chapeltown, a trusted location known to the parents. To increase confidence and create an informal, non-judgemental environment their sessions included opportunities for relationship building and peer-support.

To support continued participation, all participants received a laptop, headset, mouse, and laptop bag with vouchers. Afrikindness embedded digital skills support into the sessions, with exercises on laptops and desktop computers so parents could develop their digital skills and increase their confidence to navigate the internet throughout the course.

The programme ran over five weeks, with sessions covering the following topics:

1. Introductory informal session
2. Introduction to misinformation and disinformation
3. Phishing and online scams
4. Content types and responsible sharing
5. Fake news and Artificial Intelligence

Afrikindness also hosted an additional parent-teen interactive learning session co-facilitated with young people using storytelling, videos, and quizzes. Young people helped parents identify fake content and explained online behaviours.

Afrikindness supported their members to share their own experiences by working together to complete group quizzes and navigating information together in pairs. This increased confidence and empathy, and created a judgment-free environment with learners recognising ‘it could happen to any of us’.

Many of Afrikindness’s learners had seen scams relating to Asda vouchers shared through WhatsApp groups and online. To many, the vouchers appeared legitimate, and some learners had been scammed in this way in the past. Afrikindness used this scam as an example in an ‘identifying the red flags’ exercise to build learners’ skills and confidence in looking for signs of when something is a scam, reinforcing the message that ‘if it’s too good to be true, it probably is’.

Workshop outcomes

Afrikindness’s goal was to upskill parents to recognise misinformation and disinformation and to support them to pass on their learning to their children and share their knowledge to help them. This approach helped parents to feel more confident and have greater knowledge of which tools and resources are available to support them in staying safe online and protecting their children online.

“Participants are now more confident, more critical, and more cautious online. They have begun sharing learning within their communities, extending the project’s impact beyond the classroom. The programme has helped families move from passive users of information to critical thinkers and informed digital citizens.

“Feedback shows significant behavioural change. Participants reported pausing before sharing information, verifying online content, avoiding suspicious links, and teaching their children online safety practices. All participants independently delivered learning to other parents, demonstrating knowledge transfer within the community.”

Afrikindness Connecting and Protecting Communities Report

“Before this training, I was afraid of using many online services because I had been scammed before. Now I know how to protect myself, check information properly, and help others avoid the mistakes I made. Receiving a laptop has allowed me to continue learning and support people in my community. I feel much more confident and connected.”

“I have learnt so much. I feel more empowered, peaceful and calm about the theme of misinformation and disinformation, to take my time and slow down to check something before I act.”

“I’ve learnt that if a scam text or misinformation comes to me online or through a message, I can break the chain of sharing by not passing it on if I am not 100% sure it is true. I will now pause, and fact check before I share.”

Learners, Afrikindness

100% Digital Leeds is using the insights gathered by Afrikindness and other delivery partners to develop the Connecting and Protecting Communities toolkit. This will be a co-produced bank of resources that organisations can use to teach online safety and media literacy, including tackling misinformation and disinformation. The resources will include session plans, case studies and examples of misinformation and disinformation that will resonate with a wide range of organisations and their learners. They will set out different approaches to embedding these discussions within existing services and digital inclusion interventions. The resources will enable other organisations to deliver meaningful digital inclusion interventions on the theme of misinformation and disinformation. The toolkit will be published later this year, on the Digital Inclusion Toolkit.

Advocating for the needs and experiences of minority ethnic families

In March 2026, 100% Digital Leeds invited Afrikindness to speak as part of our digital inclusion annual report to Leeds City Council’s Infrastructure, Investment, and Inclusive Growth Scrutiny Board.

“Taking our community voice into strategic spaces like the Scrutiny Board is incredibly important. It allows us to highlight the lived experiences behind the data. Families who are trying to do their best but lack the tools, confidence, or understanding to fully engage in the digital world. Digital inclusion is no longer optional; it is essential for safeguarding, education, and long-term life outcomes for our children.”

Bunmi Owolabi, CEO Afrikindness

Next steps

Developing digital skills courses to support parents with a range of skills levels

Afrikindness are continuing to develop their digital skills courses. After delivering their 10-week course to two cohorts the organisation has found parents join the course with a range of abilities, with some having foundational skills and some starting ‘from scratch’. They have also found some parents are interested in developing their digital skills to a more advanced level, looking for support with more complex digital platforms and issues such as cloud storage. As a result, Afrikindness are developing their digital skills training to include three 10-week courses at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels.

“Our next stage will be to kick start an ‘intermediate’ course with the parents who have attended our digital skills sessions to date, as a lot of our current group of parents want to take their learning further. We also have a waiting list for beginners, so will be delivering the existing course for a further, third cohort of parents.”

Bunmi Owolabi, CEO, Afrikindness

Overcoming challenges

Afrikindness are still looking for support in the following areas:

• Access to digital equipment: donations of new or professionally reconditioned digital devices such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops. This will help Afrikindness gift devices to parents struggling to afford equipment for themselves and their children.
• Securing a permanent venue: securing a dedicated space in a community venue in the LS7, LS8, or LS9 area. A permanent space will help Afrikindness more easily and efficiently deliver digital skills workshops and one-to-one support.
• Additional resources and funding opportunities: access to more funding will help Afrikindness further expand on their digital inclusion offer to support more people, and to provide a wider range of support, meeting the varied needs of the community.

 

Case studies

Mrs A

“Mrs. A is a parent and community member from Leeds who joined Afrikindness’s Digital Skills and Misinformation Awareness Programme after experiencing several challenges online. Prior to joining the programme, she had limited confidence using digital platforms and had previously fallen victim to online scams and misleading information shared through social media and messaging platforms. These experiences left her feeling anxious about using digital technology and uncertain about which online information sources could be trusted.

“Mrs. A enrolled in the six-week training programme to improve her digital skills and better understand online safety, misinformation, and disinformation. Throughout the programme, she participated in interactive workshops covering topics such as identifying fake news, recognising scam tactics, protecting personal information online, and accessing trusted sources of information. She also developed practical digital skills that enabled her to engage more confidently with online services and learning opportunities.

“At the completion of the programme, Mrs. A received a laptop through the project, which further supported her ability to practise and apply her new skills at home. Since completing the training, she has become an active advocate within her community, sharing what she has learned with family members, friends, and other community groups.

“She now regularly encourages others to verify information before sharing it and helps raise awareness of common online scams and digital safety practices. The programme has not only increased her digital confidence but has also empowered her to become a trusted source of information within her community.”

Learn more about the Afrikindness Digital Inclusion Programme

Discover Afrikindness training programmes, community support, resources and opportunities to get involved at afrikindness.org/digital-inclusion or contact Afrikindness via email at info@afrikindness.org