Interview Series: Sitting Down With Mandy Sanghera

We recently held the Local Government Technology Conference, in Westminster, London. It was an exciting day of learning, networking and interesting conversation. As most of our conferences are online, when we do get to meet people face-to-face, and host speakers in a physical space, it is a wonderful feeling. Seeing all of the conversations, the technologies, the passionate speakers and like-minded delegates in-person reminds us of the positive impact these conferences have on people. You can see the learning, the conversation and the enjoyment people are having and you can’t help but feel proud of the team at Government Events.

To try and encapsulate the incredible keynotes and case studies that occurred throughout the day, we decided to record a series of interviews with some of the amazing speakers who attended. We spoke with Mandy Sanghera OBE, a human rights activist who is currently working as a Project Lead at Coventry City Council. Mandy is a passionate speaker who is shedding light on key issues like Digital Poverty and Accessibility, and we were fortunate enough to borrow her for a few minutes to ask her some questions.

You can watch the interview here, or read it below.

What inspired your talk today, and why is this topic important for local government right now? 

So obviously we have seen that a lot of people are really struggling financially, a lot of people are really struggling with a lot of real challenges around poverty for instance, we’re seeing that there’s a real refugee and migrant crisis and we’re seeing a lot of misinformation in the media and I’ve also have done a lot of work where there’s a lot of biases but actually for me it’s about levelling up and looking at how do we make sure that we leave no one behind, how do we make sure that local authorities are really engaging with the most vulnerable and the most in need. 

So your comment was just about digital poverty. Could you just talk a little bit more about this and how new technologies can help resolve this problem? 

So one of the things that really shocked me was during the pandemic that actually young people in the UK, children who had to be taught at home actually never had internet, for instance. Some families didn’t have a laptop or they had one phone for all of them. And how do they manage this if mum and dad have to work or they needed to use the internet? So there was real digital poverty. For me, I realised that we were in a storm, but actually in very different boats. So we needed to look at how do we engage with that. 

I also work with newly arrived communities, whether they’re refugees or migrants, and realised that actually some of those people didn’t have digital literacy, didn’t have equipment, or they didn’t have smartphones, and they weren’t able to access information in real time. So for me, what I realised was that actually we need to look at tackling some of those real social issues. And we’re doing that today, by being at this conference with local authorities, getting them to think about how can they work in a smarter way to achieve some of those challenges.  

How have you found our event so far? 

It’s been amazing so I’ve not just connected with local government but actually so many other people that are working in the digital space and actually one of the things that I’ve realized is that actually people all want to work together they want to look at collaborating and people have got different tools.

So for me, one of the messages would be today to take away is actually about joining up the different departments to support people. People shouldn’t have to keep telling their story time and time again we have to work in a more cost-effective way work in more a person-centred way that actually people feel valued.

By meeting people today having these conversations and I’m feeling really excited about some of the tools that have been out there and I really love the variety of speakers that we’ve had at this event it’s been really good for me to learn about different programs and different systems out there.

I think well done to everybody that’s pulled us together and all the young people that have been involved and I think it’s brilliant because you have to have the next generation to be a part of this conversation as well.

Thank you, Mandy. 

As we reflect on the day, it’s clear that events like the Local Government Technology Conference are more than just opportunities to share knowledge. They are moments that inspire action and collaboration. Hearing voices like Mandy’s, and witnessing the energy and commitment of everyone in the room, reinforces why these conversations matter.

We’re proud to help create conferences that drive conversations and change, and we’d love for you to be part of it. You can pre-register your interest for next years Local Government Technology, which will be happening next June.