EDITOR’S COMMENT I expect there was a collective sigh of relief from many this week, as kids returned to school. While I have no point of reference (unless parenting a puppy counts), I can imagine that home schooling – even among the relatively privileged real estate industry – was tough. Kudos goes to every single parent that made it through unscathed.
But for many across the UK, home schooling was nigh on impossible owing to the very real existence of digital poverty. According to Ofcom, more than one million UK children do not have access to a laptop, desktop or tablet at home. Furthermore, some 880,000 live in a household with only a mobile internet connection. Can you imagine trying to do your job without a computer or Wi-Fi?
But why would I mention digital poverty here? Does it matter to real estate? The answer is – immensely.
The future of real estate depends on digital intelligence. And the future of real estate depends on diverse intelligence. We all know how true this is. If almost 10% of our children – of our future leaders of this and many other industries – are unable to learn, to connect and to become digitally literate, then the future of this industry is at risk.
Those one million-plus kids are largely from poor backgrounds and go to school in more deprived parts of the country. But those children could be the great thinkers and innovators of the future, and I would place a sizeable bet that those kids are super-resilient – a trait that we’ve all come to value highly over the past year.
Aren’t they the kinds of young people we want to showcase the wonderful world of real estate to? Aren’t they the kids whose brains we want to utilise to make sure that the sector delivers a built environment for all? Of course they are. So let’s do something about it. Let’s give them access to the digital world, to education. Let’s give them the chance to develop the skills essential for their future careers, and let’s give real estate access to these potential future superstars.
This week, EG is proud to be launching an initiative that calls on the whole of the real estate sector, from agents to investors, developers, lawyers, architects and planners, to do its bit to help end digital poverty. Through our #REBoot initiative, we are asking businesses and individuals to dig out any old (but not ancient) laptops and donate them to charity Computer Aid. Computer Aid will wipe and refurbish the computers, and donate them to schools desperately in need.
CBRE has worked closely with the charity to create a contract for donation, which it is happy to share with other businesses looking to donate en masse, and 10 agents have already signed up to the initiative with the promise of providing several hundred machines.
But Computer Aid needs thousands if it really is to make a difference. Can real estate rise up to the challenge? Can real estate as a collective deliver on its promise of enabling a more diverse and inclusive sector? This could be a step to take it there, by creating relationships with schools outside of the sector’s radar and by showcasing to them the power that real estate has to make real change.
It’s time to #REBoot. Are you in?
Good news for anyone panicking about missing the entry deadline for this year’s EG Tech Awards. If you haven’t already heard in this week’s TechTalk Radio Podcast, then sound the klaxon. There’s a deadline extension. Hopeful winners now have until 26 March to get their entries in. Click here to discover the categories and enter. Good luck!
To send feedback, e-mail samantha.mcclary@egi.co.uk or tweet @samanthamcclary or @estatesgazette
