A young businesswoman is using her own experiences of leaving her home country and settling in Greater Manchester to empower others with increased digital skills.
Alaa Alsewid has launched Social By Design, a research and consultancy agency, which will be hosting workshops, 1:1 support and a digital community platform in Arabic, Spanish and English to support and equip refugees and asylum seekers with essential digital skills to overcome barriers to accessing support services, improve employment prospects, foster connections and build awareness around scams and fraud.
Salford-based Alsewid said: “The idea of the digital workshops as part of Social By Design first came to mind for me as I saw Facebook posts from Syrian migrants about how they had been victims of scams, they were being told if you don’t do as they say, they could be deported. It really upset me that the most vulnerable communities were being targeted, they were terrified and without the language and digital skills did not know what to do or who to turn to.
“Refugees and asylum seekers in Salford, Manchester and the surrounding areas face significant barriers to digital literacy, which limits access to support and health services, increases challenges searching for and securing employment and increases isolation and risk of vulnerability to fraud and financial abuse.
“Our aim is to empower and give knowledge about basic digital literacy skills that a lot of people don’t have the privilege to know how to do. They just use the phone to make calls, and this is just because they didn’t have someone to tell them how to do these things. They feel like this is like a big black hole in their lives they don’t want to enter, and they are still afraid of using tech. These skills will change their quality of life and integration into a new community.”
Social By Design has been made possible after successfully gaining £8,000 from the Funding Futures Programme, which Alseid described as “life-changing.”
The Funding Futures Programme, a joint fund from Unltd, Co-op Foundation and Phoenix Group and delivered by Unltd, has been set up to support young social entrepreneurs working in the areas of financial inclusion and literacy.
Alsewid arrived in the UK in 2019 from Syria to do a masters degree in media and public relations having already achieved a bachelors degree in engineering. She also volunteered with charities and international development organisations while still in Syria to support internationally displaced people.
She added: “All of my experiences grew my passion to support people and the planet. In my various roles and studies along the way, I felt like people were being told what was best for them rather than them being asked what they needed, which is why I started Social By Design – to include refugees and asylum seekers and local communities they were set to be integrated in, in the design of the programmes and support, drawing on their very personal lived experiences.
“UnLtd’s mentoring has given us new ideas and the funding has meant I don’t have to juggle full time work – so the support has already been life changing.”
Mark Norbury, CEO of UnLtd, said: “Young people make great social entrepreneurs – creative and energetic in their vision of a better society, not afraid to challenge political and structural norms, collaborative and democratic in their approach, leading with empathy and compassion.
“Alaa and our other award winners embody this. She has drawn on her personal experience to develop a brilliant solution for her community. She’s going to make life better for generations to come. This is why we designed the programme with young people, and why their impact and potential are so exciting. Our entrepreneurs’ insights and experiences will shape impactful solutions today to tackle tomorrow’s challenges.”
Nick Crofts, CEO of the Co-op Foundation, added: “The Funding Futures Programme is a big part of how we’re building communities of the future together at the Co-op Foundation. It’s been inspiring to work closely with young people in the co-design process, ensuring that their perspectives drive meaningful, relevant change. By empowering young leaders with both resources and a platform, we’re confident that they will make a lasting impact in their communities.”
