Digital Skills and Inclusion in Volunteering

Wednesday 19 June 2024 | 9.30am to 12.30pm | Online via Zoom

Ticket prices: Members £25 | Non-members £40

Across the volunteering sector, organisations are increasingly adopting a ‘digital first’ approach, looking to embrace the flexibility and efficiency of digital tools and systems. 

Although the world is increasingly moving online, we know not all our volunteers (and colleagues that work with, and support, volunteers) are confident to use digital tools. We also know there are barriers around access to devices, connection to the internet, and with an unfolding Cost of Living Crisis, the ability to afford these tools.

At this interactive online event we will hear from a range of speakers who are working to support volunteers to develop their digital skills and confidence and break down barriers around access to digital initiatives and developments.

This event will cover:

• What digital means to you as a volunteer manager, or volunteering leader, your colleagues and the volunteers you work with and how to make digital work for you, your volunteers and your organisation
• The wider context around digital exclusion – and the positive impact digital inclusion can have on people’s lives
• Digital tools, platforms, resources and approaches to engage volunteers, and colleagues who work with volunteers 
• Barriers to accessing digital systems and how as individuals and organisations we can work together to break down those barriers and how to ensure our volunteering roles and opportunities are digitally inclusive
• How to support volunteers (and colleagues working with, and supporting volunteers) to develop their digital skills and confidence with insight and case studies from the Scouts and Barclays Digital Eagles on how they have supported volunteers to develop their digital skills

Speakers

Tori Ellaway – Head of Digital Practice, Centre for the Acceleration of Social Technology (CAST)

Tori Ellaway has a diverse background in digital roles, primarily within the charity sector. As Head of Digital Practice at CAST, she’s all about helping nonprofit organisations get savvy with digital tools. But it’s not just about tech – she’s also passionate about supporting individuals to level up their digital skills and ways of working, so they can navigate the digital world with ease.

Hilary Nugent – Community Engagement Manager – Volunteering, Good Things Foundation

Hilary has worked in volunteer management for over 16 years, in both large national organisations and small local charities. She has been the Volunteer Manager at Good Things Foundation, the UKs leading digital inclusion charity for 5 years. 

Good Things is a social change charity, who help people improve their lives through digital, by working in partnership with thousands of community organisations across the UK (the National Digital Inclusion Network) .

She runs training and information sessions for this network as well as developing employee volunteer schemes with Strategic Partners and running her own small team of volunteers. 

She openly admits that before she started working for Good Things her understanding of the widespread and complex nature of digital exclusion was practically non-existent so she is keen to spread the word amongst her AVM colleagues!

Gethyn Williams – specialist in non-profit development

Gethyn has spent over 20 years working in the voluntary and community sector across England and Wales in fields as diverse as sport, youth, environment and disability. Specialising in volunteering initiatives for the past decade he’s worked on strategy for the London 2012 legacy, within central government at the height of the Covid pandemic and run national programmes at Volunteering Matters.

A freelancer since 2020, Gethyn now focuses on helping non-profits to develop their business, capture their impact and enhance their volunteer programmes. In recent times he has supported the roll out of a range of national, high-profile volunteering initiatives, including the Vision for Volunteering and The Big Help Out.

The diversity of these approaches to volunteering provides the thread that now runs through his work – a belief that volunteering is still largely misunderstood or under-valued, but that by engaging in all of its forms we can help raise volunteering to a level of appreciation and awareness that its social value clearly justifies.

Kirsty Adams – Digital Eagle and Money Mentor team, Barclays

Kirsty has worked for Barclays for coming up to 19 years, with the majority of this time in their branches supporting customers and colleagues. She then joined the Digital Eagle and Money Mentor team in 2020 and her role now consists of supporting Barclay’s customers and communities with digital and money skills through it’s Digital Wings platform.

Tom Bell – Digital Skills Community of Practice Lead, Scouts

AVM members’ discount

AVM members are eligible for a discount on the event ticket price. Please log in to your account so that your discount can be automatically applied.

AVM members are eligible for a discount on the event ticket price. Please log in to your account so that your discount can be automatically applied.

If you’re not an AVM member, you can join AVM today to gain access to this event, as well as receiving lots of other benefits, including access to free member-only events, discounts for all public events and the annual AVM conference. You will also have access to the AVM BiteSize webcasts and AVM Replay videos of previous events, including our annual conference. Members also have the opportunity to join our Mentoring Scheme and build their professional network through AVM Connect.

Join AVM today to access your discount on this event.