Foundation Of Light team up with Shout Digital

Foundation of Light are delighted to announce a new partnership with digital development agency, Shout Digital.

The partnership will see Shout Digital work alongside the Foundation in developing our online presence.

As well as acting as a digital partner for the Foundation and our own digital estate, the team at Shout will be supporting the Foundation to develop a programme that helps families in the region develop their digital skills.

Although phones, tablets and laptops feel ubiquitous in many homes, the North East continues to lag behind other regions in surveys of internet use and digital skills. The pandemic has accelerated a move to online access for services such as healthcare, housing and banking, and coupled with the move to remote learning, this has made the digital divide more acute.

While there has been a big push to provide hardware such as laptops to those most in need, digital exclusion is still an issue for many young families, where a lack of skills can make access to services and learning more difficult, and even leave people vulnerable to disinformation and fraud.

Details of the programme are being developed by the Foundation delivery team, with Shout contributing expertise. Both organisations are extremely excited to see how they can impact the lives of families in the region.

The first deliverable for the partnership has been new websites for the Foundation of Light and the Beacon of Light, which are supported by an easy-to-use content management system, meaning our team at the Foundation can efficiently manage our own content and present the work of the organisation in a compelling way.

Lesley Spuhler, CEO of Foundation of Light said: “We pride ourselves on going the extra mile for people within our community and this is a fantastic opportunity to help families within the region to develop their digital skills.

"We really appreciate the support Shout Digital have provided thus far and will continue to do so in the coming months."

Nicole Atkin, Chief Commercial Officer at Shout, commented: "We're proud to be working with the team at the Foundation of Light, both in developing their online presence but also creating a longer-term partnership to elevate digital skills for families in the region.

"We have long admired the work the Foundation is doing with and for North East communities, and we're looking forward to contributing to that effort."

Shout is a digital development agency that creates and manages digital experiences, such as web and mobile applications, software integrations and bespoke platform builds.

With expertise in digital strategy evolution and customer experience design, Shout is Headquartered in Newcastle. The team work with a range of commercial and public clients regionally, nationally and internationally including Parkdean Resorts, Northumbrian Water and the ICO.