Our campaigns
We're campaigners. People who are digitally excluded lack a voice and visibility in the modern world, as government services and democracy increasingly move online.
Get Online Week
Get Online Week is an annual digital inclusion campaign organised by Good Things Foundation. It’s the UK’s largest digital inclusion campaign taking place every October. This year, it’s happening 16 – 22 October 2023.
Why is Get Online Week important?
- 2.9 billion people are digitally excluded worldwide (ITU, 2021).
- 10.2 million people lack the basic digital skills needed to use the internet (Lloyds Consumer Digital Index, 2022).
- 6.9 million people in the UK will remain digitally excluded if nothing is done to help them (Cebr, 2018).
A lack of digital skills and access can have a huge negative impact on a person’s life, leading to poorer health outcomes and a lower life expectancy, increased loneliness and social isolation, less access to jobs and education.
How does the campaign work?
Good Things Foundation bring together organisations in the National Digital Inclusion Network to host hundreds of events that help their local communities get online safely, confidently and affordably. These events are fun, inclusive and accessible so that everyone can get the chance to access or learn how to use the internet, data and devices.
Alongside reaching people who are digitally excluded through local events, Get Online Week provides an opportunity for supporters of digital inclusion to raise awareness of this critical issue. Anyone can get involved to spread the Get Online Week message that everyone should have equal access to and capability to use the internet.
Want to get involved?
- You can host a digital skills event
- You can become a campaign ambassador and spread awareness of digital exclusion on social media and within your networks
- You can learn more about the digital divide and how we’re working to fix it
- You can help others to get online by volunteering or mentoring through your local hub
- You can read and share the stories of the positive impact made through this campaign
- You can share the map of events happening across the UK with a friend or family member who may like to attend a local event!
Fix the Digital Divide
In the UK there are 7 million people who do not have the internet at home due to lack of affordability, there are over 10 million people who don’t have a smartphone, and we know that digital exclusion is a determinant of health inequality.
When COVID-19 struck, we knew that millions of people would be denied basic human needs due to their lack of a device, connectivity and skills. Suddenly, people could not register for help on recommended websites for healthcare, couldn’t shop online or support their children’s learning, register for government support and funds, or speak to friends and family.
We know that people who need to self-isolate are putting their health at risk by going out, just because they don’t have a device to connect to the internet, as well as lacking affordable data and the skills to use the internet in a purposeful way.