the communityuk.net digital inclusion concept brochure - "how big is your bubble?"

Contents 1. How Big is YOUR Bubble? 2. Community Networking for a Digital Britain 3. What about Community? 4. Our Objectives 5. Community Networking 6. Community WiFi Broadband 7. The “Community Networking” Portal 8. Digital Inclusion? - It’s not optional! 9. Building Employment & Sustainability 10. Corporate Social Responsibility 11. True Potential 12. Have we Captured your imagination? 13. In Summary 14. Contact Details

How big is YOUR bubble? INTRODUCING THE CONCEPT OF ‘COMMUNITY NETWORKING’

How do we bring back self-‐belief and personal aspiration for a better life? By creating an environment of opportunity enabling all individuals to maximise their potential.

How do we support education for both children and adults? By providing quick and easy access to state of the art learning providers and educational resources.

How do we combat the rise in youth unemployment? By improving access to e-‐education and learning opportunities children are able to further develop their skills therefore increasing their employability.

How do we create a ‘relevant’ work force? By improving the connectivity between education, industry and commerce.

How do we regenerate deprived areas? By bringing commerce ‘back into the local community’, therefore creating sustainable business opportunities and jobs.

How do we help bridge the ‘digital divide’? By providing free and low-‐cost Internet services for everyone within the community and the support and training they need to use them properly.

How do we marry the ‘best of the past’ with the ‘best of the future’? By reigniting traditional community values using the technologies of today and tomorrow.

How do we enable society to work and flourish? By engaging people, sharing knowledge and skills, and through ‘networking’ our Communities.

How can you help achieve this? By believing in your community and harnessing the potential of CommunityUK

Community Networking for a Digital Britain

At CommunityUK, we believe that EVERYONE has a right to a quality High Speed Broadband Internet connection, regardless of not just location but of financial status too. For our Children, as consistent access to e-learning at home as well as school is now a pre-requisite to their success. For ourselves, to help us access the information and facilities we need in every aspect of our daily lives. For us all, the Internet is simply not optional, it is a must have now. But Digital Inclusion (or exclusion!) is not just about geography; it is often about circumstances too. Working in locations across the UK, we have regularly found that not only are many communities in areas that are simply cut-off from usable Broadband because of location but there are also large segments of communities in any area that simply cannot afford to pay for high speed Internet access, or have not had the support they need to use it properly, whether it is available to them or not. For us, this is as unacceptable as it is for a community to be denied

quality broadband just because of where they live! Simply put, we believe that Digital Inclusion for ALL is the only way forward. With mobile Internet becoming such an integral part of our lives, this should not be just in our homes, but all around us too! This is why bringing FREE WiFi Broadband to ALL across CommunityUK is and always will be one of our primary objectives. Regardless of what you may read or are told, WiFi Broadband can bring HIGH QUALITY, HIGH SPEED, FREE and LOW COST Broadband services to any Community, anywhere far quicker and far more cost-effectively than Copper, Fibre or Cable Networks - It's our opinion that many of the "Big Boys" in the industry just don't want you to know it!! And it is not just about technology either. We believe that every community needs help and guidance to enable them to genuinely get the best out of the Internet. We also believe that the Internet should and can be a tool to bring communities together rather than to help them to avoid each other. It is because of this belief that CommunityUK is not just another Internet Service Provider or Telecoms company. We bring with us not only the connection but the tools, resources, guidance, support and opportunity needed to ensure that every individual and every organisation, regardless of age, position or situation can be reached and helped to become part of the CommunityUK. Currently providing WiFi Broadband networks and Community Networking Portals to thousands of homes and businesses in Hampshire and Kent, we are already doing it! As the saying goes, with CommunityUK "Nobody gets left behind"!

What About Community?

A common definition of “Community” is “People of a district or country considered collectively, in the context of social values and responsibilities”. The CommunityUK concept of Community Networking” started with our original project in Leigh Park in Hampshire, in what is a genuinely deprived area that was once the biggest Social Housing estate in Europe. As a pilot project that is now being replicated across the UK, Havant CommunityUK currently covers over 5,500 homes on the Leigh Park estate with a free and low-cost WiFi Broadband Network and provides the community a n d i t s r e s i d e n t s w i t h a truly a fantastic opportunity to not only save money but to also contribute to both the education of their children and to the development of their

community as a whole, thus empowering them to both meet their responsibilities and demonstrate their social values. Let’s look at some basic statistics At a rough estimate, up to £250,000 is paid out by Leigh Park residents to major companies such as BT, Virgin, Talk Talk etc. for Broadband Internet services EVERY MONTH – Staggering isn’t it! With our current coverage, we already putting c£20,000 per month back into the pockets of the residents of Leigh Park alone! Also, when you look at unemployment, Leigh Park in Havant for example, is considerably worse off than other areas within the Havant Borough. Whereas the figure for Havant as a whole is around 3%, the average figure for Leigh Park is 5.5%, with the majority of these being young, single males. That area also suffers from a much lower average in terms of educational attainment, the highest level of teenage pregnancy in Hampshire, the lowest position on the county’s Health & Wellbeing tables, with the lowest age expectancies in the county, and other similar issues. The list goes on and, all in all, does not seem to represent the best set of ingredients for future regeneration and success. The unfortunate reality is that this is neither unique nor indeed an unusual situation or set of figures within what we call, “CommunityUK”. However, we firmly believe there are genuine opportunities to change this negative situation and we intend for CommunityUK and its “Community Networking” initiative to play a major role in that change.

Our Objectives The primary objective of CommunityUK is to encourage and enable REAL and SUSTAINABLE regeneration throughout the UK. We aim to uniquely enhance the education of our children so that they can enjoy and genuinely contribute to a brighter future for all. We also aim to enable adults to continue with l ife-long l e a r n i n g and increase their employability, thus assisting with personal development and long term wellbeing. Finally, we aim to help local business, local education and government all engage with and contribute to the growth of the communities they serve and operate within. We aim to help ALL members of the community to live, enjoy their lives and to contribute to a real community spirit. We intend to help build communities throughout “CommunityUK”, that are socially, economically and emotionally robust and we intend to do it using the tools of the modern world, namely the Internet, combined with CommunityUK’s unique “Community Networking” concept delivered through the CommunityUK web portal.

We intend to help everyone in CommunityUK to “grow their bubbles”, broaden their horizons and achieve all they are capable of; as we are always asking here at CommunityUK – “How big is YOUR bubble?” Just as an indicator of what can be achieved, if we take the Leigh Park area’s expenditure on broadband alone, can you imagine what it would mean to the area if that amount of money was suddenly available to LOCAL families and individuals to spend LOCALLY on other things they really need or want? Through the delivery of our FREE and low cost broadband services, that expenditure on traditional broadband offerings will no longer be needed and the subsequent reintroduction of that amount of disposable income to the area will clearly have a hugely positive and very rapid effect on the local economy. Money will be available to spend on other, necessities, local goods and services. Local businesses will begin starting up and growing again, shops will be opening instead of closing, jobs will be created instead of lost and a real feeling of belief in the future and community positivity will begin to build again; food for thought?

Community Networking Anecdotal evidence strongly suggests that over the last few decades, the UK’s sense of “Community” has so diminished that the majority of individuals and families live within their own personal “bubbles” and, as such, have lost almost all sense of the importance of engaging with and contributing to their wider communities. We have also seen that there is a huge lack of aspiration and desire in our more deprived and underdeveloped communities, with a rapidly growing lack of self esteem and community belief being at the core of this, particularly amongst the young. With the current level of youth unemployment, this is only likely to get worse unless we all take steps now to do something about it.

However, and most worrying of all, as a result of all of these issues, people just don’t seem to see the need or the reason to work together and strive to improve themselves and their communities any more. The CommunityUK (CUK) Initiative intends to make a real contribution to the turning around of this hugely negative situation. Rather than allowing people to continue fearing the future, change and technology or, as in many cases, using it to actually retire from their communities and abdicate responsibility for them, CUK intends to use it to show people how to genuinely “grow their bubbles” so that they can become part of and contribute to a real regeneration. Not just economically but socially and, subsequently, emotionally as well. This is where our unique "Community Networking" concept comes in. We all know that Social Networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter have revolutionised the way we communicate and we are totally in tune with this. However, the CommunityUK initiative goes so much further than simple Social Networking. Rather than just a place to chat with friends online, post photos or play games etc., all of which and more our CUKsocial channel offers, we also provide our users with quick, easy and friendly access to genuinely useful content, tools and services that will help them conduct their lives, develop themselves and contribute to their community around them, and all within their own online "Community Networking" environment. These include FREE WiFi Broadband to get them online. Lots of local Information, News, Events, Learning Support, Jobs, Business & Community Directories, Classifieds and more - all accessible within a dynamic and constantly updated Web Portal that is specifically “localised” to ensure that it contains content that is relevant, useful and genuinely local to the community it serves. But these are just the tools - We also seek to ensure all members and groups within the community are directly involved too. In every location we operate we aim to create sustainable local employment and opportunity by recruiting and training a CUK “Community Manager” to ensure that engagement with and support of the community is kept local.

Community Groups, Charities, Councils, Schools, Colleges, Businesses etc. - They are ALL members of a CommunityUK and we work to ensure that they ALL become part of, contribute to and benefit from the "Community Network". We also recruit, develop and use local “Community E-Journalists” of all ages to provide news and articles of local interest for the portal. In addition, local service providers and companies can and will invest in their own presence on the portal with their own blogs and information pages (CUKsocial Groups) to make it as easy as possible

for residents to find the information, help and services they need, when they need them. It is our aim to bring other major local organisations inside the "Community Network", such as the Emergency Services, Health, Local Authorities etc., with clearly signposted access to Government e-Services available from within the CommunityUK Portal. We encourage and facilitate communication between organisations to ensure that all members of a CommunityUK are aware of each other and how they can collectively work together to improve and grow their Community. Employers ensuring Schools and Colleges know what skills are and will be needed locally, creating what we call a relevant "SkillFlow" within the community. Local Consumers able to tell local suppliers what goods and services they really need. All of this communication and "Networking" is promoted and facilitated by CommunityUK. And we haven’t forgotten local business! We believe that all Businesses are an extremely important and integral part of the Communities that they are situated within and operate in. We also believe that they should be fully engaged with those communities not only as product or service suppliers or employers but as MEMBERS too. A major component of the initiative’s genuine sustainability is that the CommunityUK portal also provides a host of FREE and LOW COST opportunities for local, (also regional and national businesses) of ALL sizes to engage with, to communicate what they do/offer to the local community as a whole and to support there communities where they can. A central part of our philosophy is that as we believe that encouraging the community to spend “within itself” and support local businesses is an integral part of its regeneration and rapid rise from the ashes of yet another UK recession, to become shining examples to the whole of CommunityUK.

Community WiFi Broadband

Wherever your Community may be, whether it is large or small, CommunityUK can make access to the wonderful and important world of the Internet so much easier and more affordable for you and we can do it NOW! We are currently working with Cities, Towns, Villages, Community Groups, Social Housing Providers and more all over the UK towards bringing the CommunityUK initiative to as many locations and people as possible, as quickly as we can. And don't worry. When CommunityUK comes to your community, we will be there with you through the whole of the journey. We will design and build you a state of the art, high speed WiFi Broadband

Network and we will bring in the high speed broadband connections required to "power" it. We will also will provide a range of services ranging from a COMPLETELY FREE basic level of internet access (up to 2mbps Download), up to a blistering 30mbps download speeds for only £15.99 per month, depending on location. Our Internet Connection Services, subject to location, are: -

Download Speed* Upload Speed* Download Limit** Cost Per Month

Up To 2Mbps Up To 256Kbps Unlimited FREE

Up To 4Mbps Up To 512Kbps Unlimited £3.99

Up To 8Mbps Up To 512Kbps Unlimited £7.99 Up To 15Mbps Up To 1.5Mbps Unlimited £10.99 Up To 30Mbps Up To 1.5Mbps Unlimited £15.99

And don't forget - NONE of our services require users to have any form of Telephone, TV or Cable Connection and we do NOT demand a Contract*** We know how to do it too!!

We have an envied level of experience in building WiFi Broadband networks that dates back to the technology's earliest days and includes successful roll-outs in communities in some of the most difficult to reach areas in Europe! We will ensure that your community has a WiFi Broadband network to be proud of. One that is as future proof as it is possible to be and one that everyone can connect to from Home, in the Workplace, in Shopping Centres, in Parks - EVERYWHERE - That really is "Community WiFi"!

And it's not just about the Technology. Using our knowledge, experience and many established relationships, we will help you to find and apply for any funding that is available for your Community WiFi Project. There are many ways to do this and we pride ourselves on knowing and keeping up to date with them all! We will also work closely with all the main groups and organisations within your community to ensure that everyone is fully informed, fully engaged and are able to get the most out of being part of CommunityUK.

We are in it for the long haul too. When your network goes live, we will be there to run it, support and improve it as the years go by. We will also build and support your own CommunityUK Web Portal and then employ the right people locally to run it. To us, this is about partnership and one that makes us a part of YOUR community too! * No matter what anyone tells you, your actual broadband speed will always be affected by the number of other users online (i.e. Contention), the capacity of the “Pipe” that takes you to and from the Internet (i.e. Throughput) and, of course, the speed of the Internet Servers in other locations that you are communicating with/downloading data from, which will also be affected by all of the above factors. As such, just like any other ISP, we cannot guarantee the speeds customers will experience at anytime. What we at CommunityUK DO guarantee is that we maintain a maximum Contention ratio of 50:1 on all of our connections (usually much less) and we also ensure that there is always enough “Throughput Capacity” available to deliver the speeds we advertise as often as is technically possible. ** Whilst we do not Limit the amount of data our customers can download, we do operate an “Acceptable Usage” policy to ensure that no one customer or organisation using our service can negatively affect the experience for others on our networks. Our full range of Terms & Conditions, including our Acceptable Usage Policy can be found at http://communityuk.net/termsandconditions. *** Whilst we do not demand a contract at any time, some services that may be offered from time to time that provide free equipment may be subject to a minimum contract.

The “Community Networking” Portal Whether or not your Community has one of our Free WiFi Broadband Networks, it can and will benefit from fully localised CommunityUK Community Networking Portal - The glue that will help bind your community together in the Internet age. In Communities that are lucky enough to have our Free WiFi Broadband service available as well, their CommunityUK portal is always the first thing users see whenever they connect to the Internet. So how will our portal help you to live a better life AND Contribute to your Community? The CUK Portal has been carefully designed through consultation with both experts and communities in general to establish both what they need and what they want in an online community facility. What we have now is the result of that and the new version that is currently under development and due for release mid 2013 is, well, better than ever. Let's take a few moments to look through the pages below and find out about all the Portal can offer you and your Community.

CUKsocial - THE Place to meet your Friends, Colleagues and Customers A core part of the portal is our own Social Networking environment. Just like Facebook and others out there, users will be able to update their profiles and status', post comments, upload photos & videos, ask questions and even chat with each other online. In addition, they will also be able to connect with and contribute to their other Social Networking accounts such as Facebook, Twitter etc., all without ever having to leave the portal. There are also "Groups", our version of Facebook Pages, that enable individuals and organisations to create a great place (Private or Public) within the portal to discuss common interests, advertise events, market services and

products, gain market intelligence and more. Within a group, you can also create discussions, share photos, videos and other files & documents and even give it its own unique web URL! We believe that CUKsocial is an integral component of our unique “Community Networking” concept and, as such, we intend it to be closely monitored and a genuinely safe, enjoyable and easy to use one that actually contributes to communities rather than, unlike others, being a place that is used for often unnecessary and even unpleasant forms of communication – You can be assured we will very responsive and take every step possible to ensure that this doesn’t happen.

The Lifestyle Channel - Keeping you informed and Helping you live In our Lifestyle Channel you will find a whole range of localised news, information and events that will keep you informed of everything that is going on in and around your Community. News and information is broken down into all the topics you might need, with sections such as Local News, Going Out, Education & Training,

Sports & Leisure, Health & Beauty, Local Shopping, Parent & Child, House & Home, Entertainment & Activities, Computing & The Internet, Culture and more - All contributed to by local "e-Journalists" and organisations. There is also our "National" Section that has some great content for everyone in CommunityUK! There's "In the Kitchen" which provides a constant flow of new articles, recipes and Cooking Videos from great Chefs and Cooks from all over, together with a Customised and Google Search Engine that will enable you to find pretty much any recipe you like in a flash! The others such as Crafts, Motoring, Sport, Money Matters and Health & Wellbeing all bring you great content from some fantastic Contributors including National Newspapers, Magazines and Websites. There's even a page of links to all the main online National Newspapers for your convenience! And don't forget our "Community Directory" where you can quickly & easily find all the information you need about local service providers, community organisations, charities etc. - All with a couple of clicks!

The Learning Channel - Because Education is the Key! If we are going to truly build communities that will grow and thrive sustainably long into the future, the education of our children has to be the bedrock on which they are built. For children, research has shown that by having consistent access to on-line Education/Learning systems can actually improve their GCSE results by 1-2 grades. Imagine the impact of that on their future and that of CommunityUK! More students able to go on to Higher Education and therefore, more and more leaving education properly equipped and educated to make their lives a success in this constantly changing, modern world where CommunityUK MUST be equipped to compete with the world around us to be successful and sustainable. For adults too, especially during trying times such as those we are experiencing now, the need for access to resources for Adult Education, providing real opportunity to re-train and re-cycle themselves and their skills and subsequently find employment via the Internet are all now an absolute must. Our Learning channel provides carefully customised and optimised Google search engines to provide a huge and easily accessible directory of Educational websites and on‐line learning resources. Growing in size every day, Learning will provide your children with the quickest and most efficient way of finding educational support resources that are appropriate to their learning level across the Internet. Also, there are directories that cater for ALL levels and ages of learner with content to help not just school and college students but also Parents, Adult Learners, Teachers and more.

This content, together with links/access to School Virtual Learning Environments and other online and classroom based learning opportunities, resources and content provides a real learning extravaganza that will genuinely make learning easier and more enjoyable AND rapidly increase ANY Learner's chances of success.

The Careers Channel - Bringing the opportunities to you and you to the opportunities! We have also built an innovative Careers and Employment Channel that provided local and other employers with the opportunity to rapidly and easily engage with both the local workforce and the local education community. It's not just about Jobseekers searching for jobs or uploading CV's or Employers searching for candidates etc., although our Careers section offers ALL of those facilities and more. The purpose of our Careers Channel is far deeper. It is also there to ensure that the community, the Educators and local industry & commerce can and do work

closely together to not only educate and develop a relevant and suitably skilled workforce for the future but, in doing so, ensure that real and sustainable career opportunities are there to match the skills and aspirations produced. An example of how we achieve this is our unique “Showcase” Facility. This provides Employers and Recruitment Agencies with a superb opportunity to not only tell the community who they are, what they do and even what it is like to work with them, but also to give information about the careers they offer and, very importantly, what educational qualifications and experience (if any) are required to embark on them. Through these Showcase’s, the local community including schoolchildren and parents picking educational options and direction etc., are able to at last see just what career opportunities are actually available to them within or near their local area and what they need to learn to take advantage of them. They will also show the schools and colleges just what skills and subjects they need to be focusing on within their teaching curriculum to ensure they are in tune with the opportunities that are available around them. We believe that, over time, this approach will facilitate the building of a steady and adjustable stream of well educated, relevant, competitive and sustainable skills entering the workplace within communities across CommunityUK – What we call “Community SkillFlow"©.

As a Jobseeker, you can create your own unique "Jobseeker Profile" too!

Tell potential employers and recruiters who you are, what you have to offer, what your career aspirations are, what type of role you are looking for and even provide links to your LinkedIn and other relevant Social accounts (inc. CUKsocial!).

CUKvouchers - Looking for a bargain? All the Discounts are here! Whether you are shopping for a new TV, going out to a restaurant, looking to stay in a Hotel or even booking a holiday, our great and easy to use online Discount Voucher system, CUKvouchers, will ensure you get a great deal. Local and national companies from all over CommunityUK and beyond are increasingly using our system to promote Sales, Special offers and other discounts etc. to the members of CommunityUK and, with our soon to be launched fully mobile version, you will be able to check out the offers on the move to!

The BIZ Directory - Find a Local Product or Service, Use it and Review it! Whatever type of service or company you are looking for, you will find it here in our Business Directory. Whether you want your windows cleaned, your car serviced, your house decorated or need to find a local optician, pub or restaurant. It’s all there for you in our easy to use directory. Search by name, area, category or keywords and you will quickly find a local company to help you.

Users can even review companies they have done business with to help others make their choice too! Businesses of any kind can enter their details quickly and easily and get their products & services in front of thousands of CommunityUK users every day! A basic listing is completely FREE or, from less than £1 a week, businesses can increase the impact of their listing by choosing from a range of options including, website links (inc QR Codes), pictures, overviews and detailed company descriptions, products & services and more!

Classifieds - Buy, Sell pretty much anything - and you can do it for FREE! With CommunityUK Classifieds, users can buy and sell any item for FREE. Buy or Sell Furniture, Pets, Washing Machines, Audio Visual, Computers, Beds, Cars, Motorcycles, Caravans, Boats or even advertise their house for sale, rent or council exchange; all at ZERO COST (without Images). Looking to sell? The process is extremely quick and easy and adverts can be online in minutes. Looking to buy? Just select the section you want and then use our easy to use search function to quickly find any item locally or nationally in CommunityUK Classifieds!

Just Ask and you shall be answered! Ever had a question that you can't find an answer to? Need an opinion other than your own? Want some advice or guidance but can't afford to pay for it? Then you have come to the right place because all you have to do is - Just Ask! CommunityUK's Question & Answer channel enables ANY registered user to ask a question and ANY registered User to provide an answer to it! Share your knowledge, be an Expert. Help other members of CommunityUK today. Whatever the question, there's a category that covers it and the

best answers are chosen by you, the members of CommunityUK!

CUKmail - Our own fully featured FREE Webmail Service In addition to all of the above, we provide a free CommunityUK webmail account for every registered user that can be accessed quickly and easily from within the portal. Not just a simple email service, powerful CUKmail provides a range of useful functionality for our users including, an online diary system, address book, tasks and more. You can even connect to and access your Facebook, Twitter and other Social Accounts from CUKmail!

How to use the Internet AND SAFELY!

The Internet can be a daunting place for anyone, let alone those who are using it for the first time! What is a Web Browser and how do you use one? What's a URL or a Web Address? How do you use Email? What's an "Attachment"?

These are all questions that need answering, along with many more, if you are to get the very best out of the wonderful world of the Internet. Also, whilst it is an incredible tool with so much to offer, it isn't always safe unless YOU help to make it that way!

Identity theft, fraud, cyber bullying and stalking are just a few of the problems and dangers we ALL have to be aware of. Most importantly, we need to know how to avoid, combat and beat these things. Fortunately, there is a huge range of FREE help and information available both on-line and in your local area to help you learn everything you need to become a real AND SAFE internet guru and we have brought it all together on the CommunityUK Portal in one place!!

And last but not least – Our Support Service! CommunityUK provides all of its users with quick and easy access to all the Help, Support and Information you need to get the best from our services. With our on-line Support Request Form, a constantly monitored, Telephone Support Line with a UK based Support Team, a LIVE Network Status Map and Network Incident News Feed, we have all the tools you need to solve and fix any problem you may have quickly and easily. Whether you are having issues with your WiFi Broadband connection or difficulties using the CommunityUK Portal or CUKshop, help is a Click or a Call away!

Digital Inclusion? – It’s not optional!

As you can probably tell from the various sections you have already read, Digital Inclusion is a central and focal issue for CommunityUK. As an invited member of the Government’s “Digital Leaders” program, we are helping to drive the “Digital by Default” agenda and, as such, recognise that the provision of an Internet connection and even our fantastic community portal is not enough to ensure that every member of a community can become properly “Digitally Included”. As such, we have spent a great deal of time sourcing and researching resources, initiatives, tools and ideas that we

can bring to every community or organisation we work with to ensure that your “Digital Inclusion Strategy” is always supported and facilitated by the best practical and real world ideas and activities. Through our own community engagement activities, our work with a range of partners and our soon to be launched charity, “The CUK Foundation for Digital Inclusion”, we are able to bring much to the table when it comes to making sure that “Nobody is left behind”. Also, as founders of the new “Digital Inclusion Partnership”, we are working closely with a range of high quality DI focused organisations to enable us to offer a comprehensive and highly coordinated range of Digital Inclusion services and solutions. All in all, we believe there is not an organisation in the market today that can offer Communities, Local Authorities or Housing Providers the depth and breadth of knowledge and experience of practical, real world DI solutions that CommunityUK and the Digital Inclusion Partnership can. At this time, our standard activities/solutions on any DI project can/would include: -

• Getting it right FIRST time - Digital Inclusion Consultancy and Strategy Workshops to ensure your Community or Organisation is covering ALL the bases when it comes to your DI strategy and activities.

• Connectivity – Our Free WiFi Broadband Networks can ensure all members of the community have real and affordable access to the internet.

• Community Networking Portals – Localised Web Portals that provide the community with their own “E-Turf” and Councils, Housing Providers, Schools, Colleges etc. with the opportunity to place your content and services directly in front of them.

• Training & Education – The provision of a comprehensive range of services covering: - o On-Line and Classroom Based education & training resources and services o “Computer Training Clubs” in Community Centres and other community centric locations

that provide local residents with a fully equipped & managed “Internet Access Suite”, formal training, qualifications and more.

o Engagement with local Learning Providers & Partnerships to compliment and support the work they are already doing and to assist them with new, relevant initiatives.

• Community Engagement – An entirely proactive approach to engaging with all aspects of the local community to ensure full awareness of and engagement in all DI activities, including: -

o Engagement with local Councils and Social Housing providers to support, enhance and facilitate their own Digital Inclusion initiatives.

o Engagement with Schools & Colleges o Engagement with local Charities, Community Groups etc. o Engagement with local/regional businesses

• Low Cost Computers - Various schemes enabling us to provide communities with a range of low-cost computer hardware.

As stated, Digital Inclusion is at the core of our ethos and activities and those of our carefully chosen partners. Give us a call to discuss your Digital Inclusion activities and let’s see how we can help you to make them even more successful!

Building Employment & Sustainability On of the greatest obstacles to the funding of any project, especially regeneration related, is the need for it to rapidly become self‐sustaining and not to become just another on‐going drain on local or central government funds or revenue accounts. Of course wherever appropriate funding is available, we encourage communities to explore and take advantage of these opportunities and we, with our considerable experience and contacts in these areas, will provide support and guidance along the way. However, we believe that the CommunityUK initiative represents a genuine opportunity for participating authorities and groups to prudently invest in a true “Public/Private Partnership” manner that will give a real and measurable return. This is because our core objective of essentially building a “business opportunity” in each “CommunityUK” location and recruiting “Community Managers to take it on, will generate both employment and revenue which will in turn reduce costs, both in terms of localised benefits payments and the wider costs to local authorities etc. of high unemployment and the resulting social unease etc. At the same time, this business will increase disposable income and the net spending ability of the local community.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Research clearly shows that companies that take Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) seriously, embed it within their ethos and fully integrate it within their company’s Sales & Marketing strategy will reap real and genuine benefits both in terms of long term customer engagement and business development. Let CommunityUK, a company built on CSR, help you with yours. Advertising and marketing in general has changed dramatically over the past decade. With the increasing use of the Internet as an advertising medium and the

explosive growth in the use of Social Networking sites for marketing purposes, the need to genuinely engage with your audience rather than just advertising or marketing “at” them has never been greater. Whether business or consumer, potential customers are now far more discerning and have a much wider knowledge of the range of options open to them. Access to these options is also far quicker and easier than it ever was and their reasons for choosing a certain company, service or product are now based on much more than simple price etc. This is where the issue of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) comes in. Much research now shows clearly that companies that take Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) seriously, embed it within their ethos and fully integrate it with their company’s activities, including their Sales & Marketing strategy, reap real and genuine benefits in terms of long term customer engagement and sales etc. In fact, there are a huge number of individuals and organisations that will now not even consider buying from any company that cannot demonstrate real CSR. And CSR is not just about environmental issues or your company’s “Carbon Footprint”. It is very much about real Community Engagement too. By engaging properly with your “Community”, whether it is on a local or national basis, you will not only be in a position to contribute to and support it, but you will be better able to recognise, understand and respond rapidly to your customers and their needs. In fact, the “real time” market information it provides you with will actually enable to be genuinely proactive, enabling you to stay ahead of your less engaged and therefore less informed competitors For CommuityUK.net, CSR has been the bedrock on which our initiative has been built. The core purpose of our activities is to empower and equip communities across the country with the means to regenerate, grow and develop in a genuinely sustainable manner. Our whole initiative is based on such Community Engagement. We live and breathe it every day. We believe we are a living example of CSR in action and we are enormously proud of that. As such, with CommunityUK at your side, taking your first steps into the world of CSR couldn’t be easier. Through our fully integrated “Community Networking” portal, you are not only able to advertise your products and services in an incredibly considered and targeted way, you can also communicate and engage directly with the individuals and organisation’s within your community who will buy them. Here are a few of the tools and opportunities available to you within the CUK portal: -

Social Engagement & Marketing Use CUKsocial to build a company “Group” and use it to communicate freely about who you are and what you do. Coordinate and tell the community about you and your CSR activities as well as your products and services. You can even save huge amounts of time and effort by using CUKsocial as your central point of Social Media communication with your “updates” being automatically distributed to your Facebook, Twitter and other accounts and the ability to share your pages and blog entries on all the major social networks also. All at the click of a mouse!

Work with and support your local Community Using CUKsocial, our Community Directory or even through our many local Lifestyle sections, as well as other portal channels, you can find Community Groups, Charities and many other such organisations and projects to engage with and provide support for. ALL through the portal. Choosing how best to utilise your CSR activities and making them actually happen has never been simpler.

Events and Event Management Through our integrated events system, you can also easily search out community events that your company could attend, support or bring benefit to. In fact, you can create and market your own community or other event if you want to – All for FREE. Education, Employment & Employability Throughout the portal, you will find opportunities to connect with Schools, Colleges, Universities and other relevant organisations that will offer you or your staff the chance to do anything from voluntary Coaching in Schools to offering real world work experience to students from all over CommunityUK. What better way for your organisation to genuinely contribute to the future of CommunityUK? Business “Pass it on” Within CUKsocial and our great “Just Ask” channel, you will have the opportunity to engage with and even support the young and new businesses that will be the lifeblood of the UK’s regeneration. You will be able to “Pass On” your experience and knowledge to those that need it. Contributing directly to economic regeneration as you do so. If you are a new business, you will be able to network and communicate with your peers and gain advice, information and guidance from the more seasoned “business veterans” within your community.

Keeping Skills Flowing

The Careers Channel, our own employment channel, offers companies the opportunity to do far more than just advertise job opportunities. Through our Unique “Employer Showcase”, we enable companies to engage with the community around them and potential employees and tell them much more about who you are, your ethos and the careers your organisation offers, along with what education and qualifications candidates will need to take them up. In this way, you are contributing to the “SkillFlow” of your local communities by ensuring that students are aware of the opportunities that are actually open to them and that their education is being geared towards them too. What better way to ensure you have the right workforce available in the future AND to support and motivate your community at the same time?

These are just a few examples, and the opportunities throughout the portal are many, and are all so easy to use. Also, we believe probably the simplest CSR opportunity, is for you to support the CommunityUK Initiative itself! CUK is not purely a commercial web portal, it is a rapidly growing Community Interest Project that aims to bring real opportunities for regeneration, employment, education and MUCH more to everyone across “CommunityUK”. As such, simply by working with us, advertising on the portal and by using the many free tools available, you are already engaged in CSR. So why waste any more time – come and join YOUR CommunityUK now– CSR in action!

True Potential

As outlined above, there is a great deal more to CommunityUK and this initiative than a simple wireless broadband network and a web portal. Having come from a background of Community Wireless Networking and IT/ Telecoms in general, the CUK team have worked for over 4yrs on the initiatives in Hampshire & Kent and are now beginning the creation of other “CommunityUK’s” all over the country. Along the way, have learned an awful lot, not least of which has been the huge importance of engaging with all aspects of the local community, education, business and local and central government etc. in order for this initiative to work and remain working. We firmly believe that what we have come to call “Community Networking” (as opposed to simple “Social Networking” such as Facebook etc.), is the way forward and that we can use the technology available to us to genuinely bring together and regenerate not just individual communities but CommunityUK as a whole and, in doing so, build a

socially, economically and emotionally robust society that is capable of competing with and beating any and all in a hugely competitive worldwide economy. One that is capable of reaching its true potential. With the growing support our project is receiving in all areas, and the increasing levels of recognition and publicity it is generating (i.e. BBC Click, BBC News, various Newspapers etc.), we believe strongly that we are on the right track and ticking many of the right boxes. We hope you agree. Have we captured your Imagination? We hope by now the CommunityUK concept is one that you believe could be as good for your community as we do. Albert Einstein, a true genius, once said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world and all there is to know and understand”. We believe, as Einstein did, that imagination is incredibly important. Once you have imagined something, only then can you start to make it real. We are now on the second part of that journey and we hope you will join us.

In Summary

We firmly believe that CommunityUK can and will: -

• Through “Community Networking” help individuals to connect with their communities, enabling them to maximise their own potential and help fuel sustainable regeneration.

• Through our unique CommunityUK portal and business model, we will ensure that all ‘projects’ are self-sustaining and also generate real employment opportunities in every location they operate in.

• Through our learning content, services and network of learning providers, promote and contribute greatly to the education and development of both children and adults and therefore their futures.

• Through our free and low cost Broadband services and our Digital Inclusion activities and services,

ensure that all communities are “Digitally Included” and have access to the Internet and all it provides.

• Through our Community Networking portals provide an easily understandable and usable “gateway” to the huge array of services and facilities that are fast becoming “internet only” such as e-Government, e-Learning, e-Finance, Entertainment and e-Commerce.

• Through the provision of free broadband and low cost Internet services brings real financial benefit

to all our users and their communities. In addition to “funded” CUK community projects as described in this brochure, we can and do provide the CommunityUK Portal and WiFi Broadband Internet services (together or the portal alone) to self-funding communities. This includes those in broadband ‘not spots’ and rural areas using various means including Fibre, High Bandwidth “Air Fibre” links or by using 2-way satellite Internet technology as required. As you can probably tell, we have a lot of belief in and passion for what we are doing. We hope you will too. For your further information, here are some URL’s relating to CommunityUK and the initiative: - www.communityuk.co.uk - The CommunityUK.net Corporate Site www.communityuk.net The CommunityUK Portal http://youtu.be/raJ5FPrwJUk - The original BBC Click TV feature on the CommunityUK Leigh Park project – We’ve come a long way since then! http://youtu.be/Bt2mJkRSQuM - The original CommunityUK “How Big is Your Bubble” video Get in Contact If you would like to discuss bringing the CommunityUK Initiative to your community, please contact us for an informal chat or to arrange a meeting. Peter Reed-Forrester Managing Director CommunityUK.net Ltd Langstone Technology Park, Langstone Road, Havant, Hampshire, PO9 1SA E: [email protected] T: +44 (0)845 508 4944 Copyright © 2013-2014 CommunityUK.net Ltd – All Rights Reserved Images courtesy of www. freedigitalphotos.net