The Cambridgeshire Digital Partnership Round-up 2024, held in December, brought together members of the network to share and celebrate successes.

To celebrate digital inclusion achievements, Connecting Cambridgeshire and the Cambridgeshire Digital Partnership asked members to nominate a Digital Superstar – someone who had been essential to delivering digital inclusion support for communities across the county and deserved recognition.

We are pleased to share the successes and achievements of three Digital Superstars, who have worked within their communities to champion digital inclusion:

Jeremy Armitage volunteers at Cambridge Community Arts, offering online support to adults on the organisation’s inclusive creative courses, prioritising those at risk of social exclusion. At the organisation Jeremy has gone above and beyond with learners in a scheduled drop-in, was available before each session, provided one-to-one advice to learners who were struggling, and helped make the charity more inclusive. Jeremy did this in a calm, measured and empathetic manner, which put learners at ease immediately.

His work has made a big impact at the organisation by helping individuals access online courses who would have otherwise struggled to do so and allowed learners to feel part of something bigger than themselves, allowing them to feel more confident in their skills.

Jeremy was nominated by his volunteer manager, who wanted “to acknowledge and thank Jeremy for his generosity in volunteering as a Tech Support with us. What he did/does really matters and we appreciate it very much. Thank you Jeremy”

Robert Bloor has been Digital Buddy volunteer at Cambridge Central Library for the last three years. During his time as a volunteer he has delivered the weekly Digital Buddy drop-ins and helped people across all ages and backgrounds. His dedication, reliability and patience has allowed the enhancement of support available to customers to make a difference in their lives by building their confidence around digital inclusion. This year he delivered a talk for ‘Get Online Week’ to help people navigate the confusing world of data plans, with attendees finding his discussion clear and helpful.

The impact Robert has had has helped create a space at the library where people will feel supported, rather than judged with regards to their knowledge around the online world, preventing barriers to digital inclusion. 

He was nominated by his library development officer who wanted to say a “Big thank you for everything that you do to help local residents facing digital exclusion.”

Abdul Mannan is a tutor at Cambridgeshire Skills, where he provides in-class support to equip learners on his IT course with essential skills for gaining and maintaining employment. Abdul’s work as a tutor doesn’t stop at delivering in-class support. He has adapted the delivery schedules and reordered content to accommodate the availability of learners, ensuring their needs are prioritised. Additionally, he maintains effective communication outside of class to provide more support, which is tailored to each learner’s circumstances.

The impact of Abdul’s support and guidance has ensured that learners have remained in employment, whilst continuing to gain more skills that were unknown to them at the start of their journey.

Abdul was nominated by their manager who wanted to say that Abdul has “Worked so hard to support your learners, always going above and beyond to build a sense of community and camaraderie in your class. The knowledge you share truly makes a difference, and your dedication is nothing short of inspiring, you don’t seem to know how to be anything less than exceptional! Your commitment to constantly improving is clear in the amazing progress your learners have made. I just want to say a heartfelt thank you for all the effort and care you put into supporting your learners, it doesn’t go unnoticed!”

At Connecting Cambridgeshire and the Cambridgeshire Digital Partnership, we want to say a big thank you to all our Digital Superstars for encouraging and supporting digital inclusion in their local community!