BCS - my big idea to change the world
Please find below my letter posted to the British Computer Society group in LinkedIn.com
Hello,
I have an idea for the BCS, which I think will benefit us all and benefit the country.
First, please allow me to introduce myself to those of you that don’t know me. My name’s William Macleod, I first became a member of the BCS in 2006. In 2008 I was a medallist in the Individual Excellence - IT consultant of the year award. In 2009 I delivered what I hope was a though provoking presentation and discussion at the AGM of the Glasgow branch.
When I’m not doing my day to day job for Seric Systems, I try and promote good ethical practise through my website “Zen of IT .co.uk”. I’ve had limited success at this, due to my uselessness at marketing.
Have you seen the channel 4 programme “how the other half live”? While watching this, it struck me how important a computer is to children and how many families cannot afford one. That’s not strictly true. I’m sure they can get an old second hand desktop from somewhere. What families near or below the poverty line can’t afford is installation of a phone line, monthly line rental and broadband fees.
Why do I think a computer and internet connection is so important to the children of these families? Let’s look at the obvious ones:
Home Work. These children have to go to a library to research a project. That’s a little unfair. They are probably just getting to the library, when their mates are all finished and playing football at the park.
Computer Skills. Every child needs to develop computer and IT skills to give them the best chance of employment in the future.
Let’s look at the not so obvious one:
Social Acceptance. By having a computer, being able to read about the latest celebrity gossip, listening to the latest music, talking to school friends online, these children will be drawn back in to society, as opposed to being left out and feeling alone.
So what can we do about it? We can sponsor a family. We can provide a scheme whereby a family can apply for sponsorship for a laptop and 3G broadband connection. Places like PC World will do a data tariff for about £20 a month and give a laptop with it. What I’m proposing is that a BCS member pays the £20 a month, hereby sponsoring a child in poverty and providing them with this essential tool to help them develop.
The government are running a massive campaign (and have been for many years) called Digital Britain, whereby they want to get as much government services and information online as they can. What use is that, if the people that need this information do not have the tools to get online? The digital diversity gap will increase, which in my mind is unacceptable. Let’s help them out by getting everyone online.
I know this is a tall order. I know it will take a lot of planning and headaches to get in place. I know it might take thousands of pounds to setup. I know it needs to be thought out much more, but none of these are compelling reasons not to at least try to succeed at this.
I would welcome your feedback and be delighted to discuss this further with anyone interested.
William MacLeod
william.macleod@seric.co.uk