New director to lead push to get people online

Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) has appointed Chris Yiu to the new post of Director of Digital Participation. Yiu, who will start in his new post on 4 November, was previously Head of the Digital Government Unit at the think tank Policy Exchange in London. He will now spearhead the digital participation element of the Scottish Government’s plans for creating a Digital Scotland. Run through SCVO, the digital participation programme will work with third sector organisations to enable them to support digitally isolated people to join the online world. SCVO is working with third sector organisations across Scotland to develop their digital skills, so that they can support their clients to learn to use digital technologies. Lucy McTernan, deputy chief executive at SCVO, said: “Chris has a wide range of skills and experience built up across roles in government and public policy, and is a real expert on how digital technologies are changing the economy and our society. “He’ll be a great asset to our work to make sure that older people, and people living with disabilities and in poverty, who don’t have computer or internet access, are supported to build the skills and confidence required to make the most of everything the internet has to offer. This is particularly important because the UK Government’s digital by default plans mean that very soon people will also have to go online to access benefits.” Chris Yiu said: “The web has massive potential to help people transform their lives for the better. The public, private and third sectors all have an important part to play in digital participation, and I’m thrilled to be joining SCVO at such an exciting time for the organisation and for Scotland.” Yiu will be speaking alongside BT’s Brendan Dick and Carnegie UK’s Douglas White at the Digital Participation – Everyone Included? event at SCVO’s Third Sector Summit on 21 November at the John McIntyre Centre in Edinburgh. ENDS Notes to editors: 1. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations is the national body representing the interests of charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises. The Scottish third sector turns over £4.5 billion a year and employs 138,000 people in over 45,000 organisations. For more on SCVO see www.scvo.scot 2. Chris Yiu has over a decade of experience in public policy and business strategy, and has previously held roles at HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office. 3. For more information contact Charlotte McNeill, Press Officer at SCVO, on 07790 601 995