Make it Digital: Lady Martha Lane-Fox Leading the UK to a Brave New World

make-it-digital.net

The ‘Make it Digital’ campaign came into full swing following this year’s Dimbleby Lecture, delivered by Lady Martha Lane-Fox.

sciencemuseum.org.uk

The Lecture centered on her suggestion that Britain needs to create an institution which promotes digital: creativity, equality, training, accessibility and expansion. The Rapidity of the internet’s growth has meant that ethics surrounding its nature have been left in the dust, as its development has sped away into an uncertain distance. Her powerful speech outlined the lagging progress of Great Britain in the internet race, not only focused on sexual equality, but touching on government spends and accessibility to training courses.

Fox delivered a fierce and insightfully forward-thinking lecture on the role digital technology has to play in modern day, UK society. She outlined the government’s lack of engagement with the potential power of digital technology and bravely claimed that the UK, with a few tweaks, could become world-leading in the field. The silence that followed her opening statement rang ‘How?’ through the air. She suggested that there are three areas in need of drastic progress, not quite simple ones to address, but, in the light of her lecture, obviously in need of change. Punctuating her petition plea, Lady Lane-Fox states:

“Britain invented theBBC, the NHS - let’s not have a poverty of ambition - we can and should beinventing the definitive public institution for our digital age.”

The scheme is called Dot Everyone. The title hones in on the underlying message, constant throughout her prescriptions; accessibility and safe, straight-forward use on the internet.

She believes, once implemented, these three improvements will fast-track us citizens of the UK, and more broadly, the world, to the front line of digital innovation. Firstly, improving “our understanding of the internet at all levels of our society”; Secondly, “getting more women involved in technology”; and thirdly, addressing what she describes as “the genuinely new and thorny ethical and moral issues the internet has created”.

Following her lecture, the BBC have kick started their ‘Make it Digital’ campaign, which looks to support and drive forward Lane’s three primary precepts. They have sparked a whole range of programs to engage the public with the digital age and turn consumers into creators. From partnering with numerous small businesses to equip all 11-12 year olds with ‘Micro-bits’ to tinker with, to a digital traineeship that will cater for up to 5,000 of the country’s young and unemployed. 

theguardian.com

And the list goes on. This movement, whilst progressing, is nowhere near the size that it needs to be to make the massive improvements Martha Lane Fox has promised. But the prospects look promising and by signing the petition you can play the first hand of part in this national evolution.

To see Lady Lane-Fox’s full lecture CLICK HERE.

To sign the petition for a more forward thinking, digital society CLICK HERE, please. 


Leo Donnelly 

Ever wondered what would happen if you gave a half-crazed, semi-concussed, unstoppable maverick a platform to write about social media? Follow him @LeoAtSMF

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