Coventry is Flourishing: CityFibre partners with YMCA to bring digital skills to young women

CityFibre has underlined its commitment to widening access to digital skills by giving a charitable donation to YMCA Coventry and Warwickshire in a bid to empower young women by teaching them digital skills. As part of its work to improve digital confidence and literacy in Coventry, CityFibre has made a donation to the YMCA’s Flourish programme which aims to boost digital skills among young vulnerable women in the region. The donation has enabled the charity to invest in specialist training and buy the relevant technology to encourage digital skills. Through the project 12 young women have begun work on a social action campaign, using Instagram and Twitter. One young participant, Molly, joined CityFibre and YMCA Coventry and Warwickshire staff for a photocall at YMCA’s offices in Daimler Green on 12 March 2019, where they set up and launched the official Instagram account for YMCA Coventry and Warwickshire. At the digital skills workshop, they worked together to develop a social action campaign using the hashtags #flourish and #thisiscoventry to help empower young women in the local area. Molly, who participated in the programme said: “I’ve loved being part of this project and learning more about empowering others. Photography is a passion of mine so getting involved in the digital project and seeing our campaign on social media has been really exciting”. Leigh Hunt, CityFibre’s City Development Manager for Coventry, said: “CityFibre’s Gigabit City vision for Coventry, where almost every home and business will be able to access next-generation full fibre connectivity, puts local communities at its the heart. We are creating a gold-standard full fibre network in Coventry, one which will deliver genuine benefits for all members of society. “We want to do everything we can to tackle the digital divide, and a partnership with the YMCA made perfect sense. The amazing young women taking part in the Flourish programme are seeing first-hand how access to digital skills can improve their lives and that is a cause worth supporting. “The long-term benefits of improved connectivity are massive and the people we speak to cannot wait to connect to gigabit speed broadband. It’s exciting to see first-hand how full fibre will help propel Coventry’s digital future and bring exciting new opportunities for the next generation.” Lisa Carroll, Director of Youth Work and Fundraising at YMCA, noted: “YMCA is thrilled to be working with CityFibre to encourage young people to develop social action through social media online. The first campaign centres around female empowerment and encourages young women to use their voices to make social impact. Support from organisations like CityFibre allow YMCA to increase the opportunities available for young people in Coventry and Warwickshire.” To find out more about CityFibre’s Gigabit City vision for Coventry visit: www.cityfibre.com/coventry or follow @GigabitCov on Twitter. CityFibre’s strategic partnership with Vodafone is bringing Gigafast broadband services to local residents in Coventry. Find out more: www.vodafone.co.uk/gigafast.