Members of Sheffield’s tech community are invited to take part in ‘Climathon’ – a virtual event in November that will explore how we can help Sheffield tackle environmental issues as well as helping to close the digital divide. Titled: ‘Help Sheffield turn electrical waste into practical tools for people that need them’, the event will feature speakers from both universities, local organisations, including the City Council, and Sheffield Digital’s Chris Dymond, who will introduce the Donate Your Tech initiative which has been developed by members of our local tech community. The event is free to join and we would love to see as many people as possible getting involved and sharing ideas around these important issues.

It is estimated that in Britain each year we throw away a million tonnes of e-waste and that it equates to 70% of overall toxic waste in landfill. It is also estimated that more than a third of parents with children aged between five and 16 do not have access to a laptop or computer.

If you are as concerned by these numbers as we are, then join us at Climathon on Friday 13 November, and help to make a local difference, ensuring more e-waste is correctly and efficiently disposed of, recycled or reused in Sheffield by those who need it most.

The Climathon is a yearly ‘ideathon’ hosted as part of the European Climate-KIC initiative. It is designed to bring together a diverse group of people, ranging from policymakers to hackers, young people to academics, students to business leaders; to collaborate on place-based ideas that tackle climate challenges.

There will be two ‘warm-up’ webinars which will set the scene of the challenge, on the 10 and 12 November. The first will set out the circular economy of e-waste and its impact on the environment and the second will look at the issues and challenges faced by those residents in Sheffield who do not have access to technology, skills or confidence to get online, or who are unable to gain access to services due to having no connectivity.

Speakers at the Climathon include Dr Hywel Jones from Sheffield Hallam University, Prof Lenny Koh from the University of Sheffield and Robert Walker from Sheffield City Council. You’ll also hear from Sheffield Digital’s Chris Dymond who will demonstrate ‘Donate Your Tech’, created as part of the Sheffield tech sector’s response to COVID-19. Donate Your Tech is a platform that makes it easier to donate computer equipment (including laptops, tablets and phones) to community and mutual aid groups, who can then distribute them to people who need them, after being professionally prepared for use.

So, to find out more about this and to collaborate on ideas that can make a change locally as well as being part of a global climate movement, please join us on 13 November at Climathon. You can find the event website and registration pages here.