Tech4Communities: Tackling Digital Poverty in Gateshead

Digital poverty is the inability to access or use the online world in ways that meet everyday needs - whether for learning, working, managing money, staying informed, or connecting with others. 

In 2025, the divide remains stark. One in seven adults and one in five children in the UK still experience digital exclusion. The result is a system where people are left behind - not by choice, but by design. 

This exclusion deepens existing inequalities. It limits access to education, employment, healthcare, and essential services. It undermines economic productivity, drives up public costs, and corrodes social cohesion.

On Friday 12 September, End Digital Poverty Day returns for its third year – mobilising action across the UK to confront one of the country’s most urgent and overlooked inequalities.

Launched by the Digital Poverty Alliance in 2023, this national initiative is designed to accelerate practical efforts to close the digital divide. It is not about awareness in isolation. It is about alignment, visibility, and the kind of joined-up action that translates into measurable change.

At its core, digital poverty is not just a barrier to opportunity - it is a barrier to dignity, participation, and progress.

To try to address digital poverty and create more equitable and greener communities, we have just launched the Tech4Communities project in Gateshead.

This pilot is a collaboration between Connected Voice, the Digital Poverty Alliance, Gateshead Council, Gateshead Libraries, and VCSE organisations. The partnership draws on years of hands-on delivery experience, and is grounded in a model that combines national infrastructure with local coordination.

Sixteen drop-off points are now open for residents and small businesses to donate used laptops, tablets, and phones. Each one will be securely refurbished and placed directly into the hands of people who have been excluded from the digital world.

Donation requests for Gateshead residents will open as soon as collected devices are refurbished. The pilot will initially run for a period of 6 months.

For more information and any inquiries, please contact Alessandra.Mondin@ConnectedVoice.org.uk 

Find out more about Tech4Communities and drop-off locations here