Four hundred Lille students have benefited from computer donations thanks to a partnership between Emmaüs Connect and the University of Lille, presented as unprecedented but should spread to France, where the health crisis has exacerbated digital insecurity.
Computer, headphones, hard drive… 400 students from Lille have come to collect these digital “packets” since June, the last of which was distributed on Tuesday, thanks to a partnership between Emmaüs Connect and the University of Lille.
Al-Hajj testifies, in License No. 1 of the Economic and Social Administration, “During confinement, I did not have a computer. The young man adds: “There are a lot of students in the kitchen. Last year, some of them couldn’t work, so they couldn’t buy anything.”
“I don’t have the means to buy a computer, and because I have a disability, having one allows me to take notes and review more flexibly,” explains Louise, in License 3 in Modern Letters.
5% of Lille students have difficulty
The project was funded in the amount of €100,000 by the Foundation of the University of Lille, with 74,000 students, the project is also supported by the Regional Council and the European Union.
“I never imagined that we could one day speak of students ‘struck in digital ships’,” said the university’s president, Jean-Christophe Cammart, in a press release issued by Emmaus Connect.
About 5% of Lille’s students have significant difficulties obtaining digital equipment, or 3,500 young adults, according to Anne Urbanofsky, director of student life.
In May, Emmaüs Connect launched an appeal to regional companies to take back laptops, which were then refurbished by local integration structures Amiens and Tourcoing. Adeo Services, Decathlon, and the Boulanger Foundation all participated.
800 computers were already distributed last September
“The goal is also to challenge universities on digital instability to give the same opportunities to all students,” emphasizes Camille Bardot, Head of Project at Emmaüs.
The University of Lille had already lent 800 computers last September to students. Of this total, those who did not receive assistance from Emmaus received a check for 250 euros from the university.
If Hauts-de-France, particularly influenced by electronicism, serves as an experimental area, similar collection, repackaging and donation processes are also present in Ile-de-France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Baca and Grand Est.
Born in 2013, Emmaüs Connect presents itself as a leader in the fight against digital exclusion, which affects 5 million people in France, according to the association.
“Certified gamer. Problem solver. Internet enthusiast. Twitter scholar. Infuriatingly humble alcohol geek. Tv guru.”
