Google and INCO support First Nations charities to bridge digital divide

Google.org and non-profit INCO have launched a fund to support four First Nations charities to improve access to technology and bridge the digital divide.

The First Australians Digitalisation Fund provides a share of $750,000 in funding, ongoing mentorship, workshops and technical support for the following projects:

• An alumni engagement platform for Stars Foundation, supporting indigenous girls and young women
• Robotic process automation (RPA) for Clontarf Foundation, improving education, self-esteem and employment prospects for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boys and young men
• Mental health app for KARI Foundation, supporting Aboriginal child protection
• Robotics and technology education program for IndigiTek, working to increase participation and success of Indigenous people in the tech industry.

At Google’s Sydney HQ yesterday, Andrea Goddard, Stars Foundation executive director told Digital Nation Australia that the program will allow the organisation to create a ‘virtual gathering place’ to foster ongoing connections with students once they have left school.

Goddard said the platform will allow the Stars Foundation to “continue to provide valuable, meaningful support in whatever form that looks like for our alumni and our graduates, whether it's ongoing events or just a peer connection that they have with their other Stars alumni, whether it's employment opportunities that many of our corporate partners provide.”

(Left to right) Alex Schwarz, Partnership Manager, Clontarf Foundation. Andrea Goddard, Executive Director, Stars Foundation. Melanie Silva, Managing Director, Google Australia. Fiona Madigan, Country Program Manager - Australia, INCO. Reihana Nathan, Associate Program Manager - Australia, INCO

According to Goddard, the organisation is launching a program in South Australia and later this year in New South Wales that brings together First Nations alumni and young girls in school.

“We’ve got this incredible cohort of educated First Nations young women and even for them to be able to share their stories and their journeys and their paths with the girls that are actually at school going through a Stars program right now is an opportunity that we haven't yet been able to capitalise on or take advantage of,” said Goddard.

Alex Shwartz, partnerships manager NSW at Clontarf Foundation told Digital Nation Australia that the financial support from the corporate world is critical in allowing the organisation to sustainably grow its programs.

“The financial support provided allows us to open more programs and reach more boys. Our ultimate goal is to get to as many as boys in Australia that we can reach and so financial support first and foremost, allows us to access that,” said Shwartz.

However, its not just the funding that makes an impact, he said.

“We have academies coming down from all different corners of Australia, coming into the city and they might never have seen a corporate environment before. So, we get to take your kid from Burke into the Google offices and show them what a kind of corporate experience might look like, or what working at Google would look like, and they might have no clue of the different opportunities that are out there for them. But once we've done that, we can open their eyes to see what’s out there.”

According to Fiona Madigan, INCO Country Manager in Australia, despite increasing digital inclusion, a stronger focus is needed to bridge the digital divide for First Nations communities.

She said, "This is why the First Australians Digitisation Fund is excited to provide support to our four chosen non-profit organisations. Each has a tech solution that not only meets the needs of First Nations communities across Australia, but helps them to thrive, too."