Connecting Redbridge story

Digital exclusion was on our radar before the pandemic and we engaged with a number of community groups who told us that they were keen to get online and understand how technology could make their lives easier. The pandemic only reinforced this and those who were not digitally connected found their only other channel of communication was the phone.

There is already lots of great work and initiatives being run in the borough to get people upskilled and connected. The libraries have always offered free access to devices and the colleges have offered free skills training. What we needed was to bring our collective efforts together to make sure we are offering what people need and in the places, they need it.

Each partner brings a unique insight to digital inclusion and our collective resources and understanding will deliver our vision of ‘ensuring people have the skills and access to benefit from digital technologies to make their lives easier.’

We will use our collective assets to ensure everyone who needs and wants access has the option to do so. We will also use our shared voices to campaign for the things Redbridge needs to ensure everyone has access.

Connecting Redbridge is the name by which all our partners will collaborate to deliver the training, devices and connectivity the borough needs. The name was selected from an initial list and Gabor J Orveny, a student from New City College created the branding.

It was an opportunity for him to showcase his skills and deliver designs to a real client. Students created various options and partners narrowed it down to a brand that suited all our organisations.

We’ll use this branding on all our publicity and this portal will be your one stop shop for all things digital in Redbridge.