According to Catherine Croxton the digital train is speeding up incredibly fast. Those of us on it are going places we have never been before and cannot imagine where it will take us in the future.
But we pass those who have missed the digital train in a blur, unaware that they are now suffering another form of modern deprivation which will make it even more difficult to climb out of poverty. For countries with struggling economies, this is a very real threat to recovery and growth.
Catherine says the frightening fact is most are unaware that it may become impossible to get everyone on board. There are millions who don't know that they have missed the train because they do not understand the digital world. Something drastic has to change.
Catherine decided to set up the NPO, SHARP Digital which is trying to tackle this problem at grass roots level. She began very modestly in a township in Hermanus, South Africa working with someone from the community to give free lessons using smartphones. She is slowly building a network of facilitators on the ground. She now works on the "back end" where she develops the courses and has created an app for long distance learning. Anyone with a smart phone can freely access short, easy to understand, fun lessons about the basic tools needed to be part of the digital world.
In this podcast she shares her story about how she arrived at establishing SHARP Digital and confronts us with some awful truths about digital poverty.
To find out more about SHARP Digital click here: https://www.sharpdigital.co.za/
"We provide free mobile-based interactive courses on digital basics to South Africans who have never been connected to the Internet or are struggling to use it.
Our courses help young people and adults get the actionable digital skills needed to look for work, to learn and to make their lives easier.
We shine a light on the digital blind spot which holds the majority in this country back from economic opportunity and growth."