HEAR are hosting 2021’s first meeting of the Digital Inclusion in London Network.

Our members told us they would benefit from meeting regularly r to overcome #DigitalExclusion in London. January’s meeting is also open to policy makers, public sector colleagues and funders as well as frontline VCS/NGOs and Experts by Experience.

You can register for the event using this zoom

link

or sign up to HEAR’s DILN mailing list via this

link https://hear.interests.me/

You will need a zoom account to register and join the meeting.

HEAR offers grants to overcome digital exclusion and barriers to attendance. We can refund expenses of Expert by Experience, user-led organisations, smaller VCS. Further details below. Also do et us know about any access or communication needs.

If you have any questions please email HEAR’s Policy and Campaigns coordinator

Mhairi@HEARequality.org.uk

Bring hacks to share, barriers you and those you work with have to overcome and techie tricks to learn.

HEAR and its members have been working with a number of different stakeholders, including our colleagues at the GLA, to contribute to work on London’s recovery from Covid 19

HEAR has a wealth  of knowledge and lied experience amongst its membership, so we can speak from the grass roots about the impact on Londoners and what is needed going forward to ensure responses really are focused on the priorities  of those most adversely affected

Part of our contribution has been to take part in the Community Conversations exercise, to help shape  the ‘missions’ guiding London’s response

We will be sharing much more about the missions and recovery work soon but we wanted to let you know what was said in the Community Conversations

HEAR held a Conversation together with Superhighways, focused on digital inclusion as part of the recovery work,  and you can read what was submitted from this conversation here:

Digital across GLA recovery missions submission

and here

Community Conversation feedback on digital

HEAR and its members also contributed to a submission  on issues impacting on older Londoners across the different missions, and you can read that here:

London Age Friendly Forum Response to the draft Missions

We also submitted a response gathering up all the other issues raised by members, which included:

-Volunteering in the community is crucial but volunteers need better more structured support

-Concerns about access to primary health care through virtual means, this is not appropriate for many, concern that this will become ‘by default’

-There needs to be more joined up working at a local level between voluntary and community groups and statutory agencies across all sectors, and business, to build resilience  at a local level through partnership

-Transcultural models of health and well-being, not just westernised medical models, are important

-Trust building is vital, especially between the community and the health and social care system

-Community involvement needs to be real and genuine and not ‘tickbox’ or hampered by bureaucracy; poor engagement  processes do more harm than good

-Focus on smoking and obesity in health is too narrow, wider determinents of health such as poor housing, lack of access to green space, accessible and affordable means of exercise, air pollution  are all vital

-Intergenerational focus is vital

-More trust needs to be built to give people confidence to use public transport in London, e.g. wearing of masks is not being widely adhered to or enforced

-Collection of data on all aspects, both quantitative and quantitative, needs to be more robust and transparent

Thank you to everyone who took part, we already know from feedback from our colleagues at the GLA that the contributions from civil society organisations have had a substantive influence on how the missions are being shaped and developed. Look out for much more on HEAR and its members’ contributions to London’s recovery and how you can take part coming soon…..

HEAR has a vacancy – deadline 10th November

Hourly Paid Sessional Worker Job Description and person specification

HEAR’s 9th Digital Exclusion case study comes from Alliance for Inclusive Education:

Remote Education as set out in the Legislation

By ALLFIE

ALLFIE, the Alliance for Inclusive Education, is the only national organisation led by disabled people working on educational issues and, in particular, working to promote the rights of disabled students to be included in mainstream education (as set out in Article 24 of the UN’s Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities).

Under quarantining and cocooning ALLFIE wanted to know if remote learning was inclusive or discriminatory. ALLFIE and Disabled Students UK’s survey respondents identified five major barriers experienced in engaging in remote education that are detailed in their case study: adaptive and assistive technology, virtual platform accessibility, in-person support, and coursework and examination arrangements, alongside emotional wellbeing.

ALLFIE has also produced recommendations from survey results, Lived Experience and good practice and legislative knowledge developed since ALLFIE was founded in 1990.

“Recommendations

Further research is needed to investigate the whole area of developing and supporting inclusive remote education… [meeting] legal and human rights obligations and duties. The remote education research must…involve disabled pupils and students…

The same duty for all education institutions to arrange remote education…that is inclusive of all disabled students.

The courses that disabled students have enrolled onto will be provided in a different manner if remote education is an unsuitable method of learning for them.

The Department for Education’s statutory guidance clearly setting out who is responsible for making various aspects of remote education inclusive of disabled students under both the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018,and Equality Act provisions…

Government enforcement regarding education institutions with websites and virtual online platforms that fail to comply…

OFSTED and Office for Students and other inspection bodies must have the power to inspect remote education…

Department for Education must clearly set out that remote education should complement rather than replace face-to-face learning.

The Department for Education must publish inclusive remote education good practice guidance.” #RemoteEducation #ChallengingDigitalExclusion #7DeadlySins

remote-education-in-legislation-allfie-case-study-2

HEAR’s 8th Digital Exclusion case study

Remote Revolution into Reasonable Adjustments from CIIP

Digital Exclusion: another type of virus! case study from People First

Parents And Communities Together – digital exclusion case study

HEAR is looking for an hourly paid sessional  worker to provide support for their Stronger Together project funded by the National Lottery Community Fund Awards for All.

About HEAR:

HEAR, the London voluntary and community sector’s pan-equalities and human rights network, is connecting and supporting equalities specialists across all equality characteristics and across London to get their voices heard, and to influence policy and the environment within which people work for equality and human rights.  We are doing this by acting as a strong and authoritative, regional pan-equalities voice and a combined source of knowledge and expertise on issues pertinent to equality, impacting on the voluntary and community sector and its effectiveness.  HEAR’s values continue to be under-pinned by the conviction that those who have direct experience of inequality and discrimination are best placed to develop strategies to achieve equality.

About Stronger Together:

Stronger Together aims to support those HEAR network members across London from small community groups and grass roots and user-led organisations, and individual community campaigners, to bring them together for solidarity, increase confidence, reduce isolation, strengthen skills and celebrate success.

The work will be offered on a flexible sessional hourly paid basis until March 2021, approximately 21 hours per week at £12 per hour.

We will consider work on a self-employed or PAYE basis for the appointed person

Currently HEAR is operating on a ‘work from home’ basis whilst government restrictions remain in place

You will have good current  skills in WordPress, a general good level of digital   skills and ability to learn new applications and work under minimal supervision. You will ideally have previous experience of working in or with the voluntary and community sector, a commitment to equality and an understanding of digital accessibility and varied communication needs.

You can find the Job Description and Person Specification here:

Hourly Paid Sessional Worker Job Description and person specification

To apply please submit a CV and covering letter, outlining  how you meet the Person Specification, to:

contact@hearequality.org.uk

Please include the names of 2 referees (we will not contact your referees unless you are offered the position)

Application deadline: by  5pm on 10^th November 2020

If you have any questions of clarification please address these to the same email or call 07466 119268

Interviews will be conducted Via Zoom week commencing 16^th November 2020

If you need information in another format please let us know

Our next Digital Exclusion case study comes from Digital doyennes (and dudes), and partners with HEAR in Net Equality and Datawise, Superhighways:

Over-coming digital exclusion needs more than just devices (but this is a good start)
By Superhighways

Superhighways helps small charities with advice, training and IT support, helping London’s VCS become more effective, raise their profile and demonstrate their impact using digital technology.As an organisation with broad understanding of how vulnerable people and smaller charities, who don’t have access to technology or digital skills know-how can become easily isolated and exposed to risk.They saw the opportunity to apply for the DevicesDotNow offer organised through The Good Things Foundation’s Online Centre Network, jumped at it!

Download or share the case study details using the hashtags #MoreThanJustDevices and #ChallengingDigitalExclusion and read the recommendations below

“Recommendation:
1.Provide at least 3 months free mobile data with every device.
Not everyone has the luxury of connecting their new tablet to their home broadband. Providing a tablet without mobile data, is like giving someone a car without a set of keys. Public WIFI can present a risk to internet newbies from being hacked where you sit, and good practice guidelines should be made available in every facility that offers it…
2.Kookycat videos
The web isn’t just about finding support services, health information and searching for employment. It’s also about making life easier (and often cheaper)… staying in close touch with friends and let’s not forget the Kooky Cat Videos on You Tube. It’s the everyday that powers the net and as a trainer your role is to work out ‘a buy in point’…
3.Buyin from senior management team
Devicesdotnow presented a fantastic infrastructure project for charities and community groups to start connecting vulnerable people with services and support at a time of crisis. It is now time for senior management teams to take on the learning from projects like this… Organisations should build in human connection to their ongoing digital services to make these as effective and meaningful as possible, and not just a 2nd class offer”