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Bailey, Sara; FitzGerald, Elizabeth and Kukulska-Hulme, Agnes
(2023).
Abstract
Over the past few decades, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the UK have provided newly-arrived migrants with information and support in multiple languages regarding how to access essential services such as healthcare, social security, social housing and energy. However, as governmental institutions digitalise their services, UK residents are increasingly expected to be able to negotiate access to essential services through English-language online platforms.
The UKRI-funded ‘Protecting Minority Ethnic Communities Online’ (PRIME) research project (2022-25) is exploring the experiences of ethnic minority/migrant populations when accessing digital services and developing tools to mitigate online harms. Interviews conducted with 100 individuals to date demonstrate that the digitalisation of essential services is leading to new forms of exclusion. Limited English-language proficiency, digital poverty and inadequate digital literacy – defined here as the ability to use and understand information from digital devices – are coming together to impede migrant communities’ access to essential services.
The main challenges identified by our research include the following: 1) the absence of online platforms that have been translated into languages that migrants are proficient in; 2) a lack of access to devices such as smartphones and laptops (digital poverty); and 3) inadequate digital literacy. These three challenges are preventing migrants from being able to set up online accounts for essential services, effectively navigate online service platforms, and communicate their needs effectively in formal written English.
In this context, NGOs which work with migrant populations have the potential to play a vital role in terms of: 1) advocating for better access to digital technology for migrant populations; 2) providing digital skills training to migrant communities who struggle to use online services; and 3) delivering educational programmes which will better enable migrant individuals to communicate effectively formal written English.