Episode 6 of our Founding Sponsor Mini Series talking to the founding sponsors of the Tech4Good South West relaunch, to explore their interest in tech for good and their hopes and ambitions for the TechforGood South West network.

This episode is in conversation with Emma Millington, co-founder of Modular Digital.

"I see Tech for Good as bringing us all together so we can be a choir for change in the South West, be here to be strong and at the same time hopefully bring joy, improvement, impact to the people around who we influence."

“Tech for Good South West is about something for everyone so that everyone can get behind it and extract whatever element of what Tech for Good means for them and really embrace it and employ it. But also about moving forwards and taking action.”

“we need shared voices and then we can have shared action and be stronger in what we're doing.”

Transcript

Tech4Good South West (00:03.374)

Welcome to the Tech for Good South West podcast brought to you by Annie, Alicia and Arielle. Tech for Good South West has relaunched and we are on a mission to build momentum for the Tech for Good movement across the South West. Our podcast focuses on conversations with charities, investors, startups and initiatives to share their stories, challenges and successes. Our next few episodes are focused on our founding sponsors and their hopes and ambitions for the Tech for Good movement.

Tech4Good South West (00:35.886)

Hello and welcome to the Tech for Good Southwest podcast. I'm Arielle Tye and very excited today to be talking to one of our sponsors, Emma Millington from Modular Digital. Great to be speaking to you. If you could start by introducing yourself and telling us a bit about your organization. Hi, so I'm Emma Millington. I'm from Modular Digital.

We're a bespoke user centered digital agency. We support teams with strategy, branding and most importantly creating human first products. So websites, apps, platforms and portals that make sure the humans are at the centre of the products.

That's awesome Emma. And if you could tell me a bit about what your interest is in tech for good.

Yeah, so thank you. My interest in tech for good, I guess on a company level, we've been really lucky. We've worked with a wide range of NGOs, charities and SMEs who are really making impact on either a global or local level, sometimes both, and tackling really big issues like food security, poverty, domestic abuse. And I think we've naturally gravitated towards those projects as a company, just because our culture, our values, and just wanting to make impact that all aligns on a Personal level.

Tech for good for me really is about balance. Technology is advancing at such a crazy crazy pace and there are a lot of benefits with that naturally But as we're going through that, I think we've really got to keep an eye on the humans the people using the products but also the planet and the world we live in so it's about keeping an eye on our roots and not getting caught up in the advancements without stopping to stare.

That's an awesome answer. And now thinking about the Tech for Good Southwest Network itself, what are your hopes and ambitions for the network going forward? What do you hope or think it will be able to achieve?

For me, it's two words, unity and community. And I see Tech for Good first and foremost as a really amazing means of bringing people together.

Tech4Good South West (02:57.774)

In the South West, we've got a staggering volume of amazing individuals, organisations, charities and projects who are all driven by purpose and passion and are really primed for change. And often we've got lots of people sort of singing the same song, but in different places. And so we can't be heard. We're never quite a choir to gather the volume. And we've got so many amazing voices with different levels and I see Tech for Good as bringing us all together so we can be a choir for change in the South West, be here to be strong and at the same time hopefully bring joy, improvement, impact to the people around who we influence.

That's amazing. I absolutely love unity and community. And I know, Emma, that you've been actually involved in the Tech for Good network, I suppose, in Bristol quite some time, that feels like there's a real momentum growing at the moment for this space. Why do you think that is? Why is it happening now?

I think the South West has a really unique offering in that just the volume of individuals and projects and that momentum I think has been driven by people just being fed up and wanting to make, I'm going to say make change a lot but fed up with the status quo, pulling together, but also having a self -awareness. So like in Bristol, we have really varied demographics. We have quite extremes of wealth access. And I just think we don't want to put up with that anymore. I'm going to use the word community again, because I think the momentum, it's almost like bringing us together because we can't do it alone.

And we need shared voices and then we can have shared action and be stronger in what we're doing.

And that's absolutely why you've come on as a sponsor, isn't it? To actually support this network, to build momentum. You are supporting us with a new identity. So it'd be really exciting if you could tell me a bit more about that.

Yes. So, Modular, we're really keen to get involved and we have helped Annie and the team with a new brand redesign as tech for Good Southwest evolves.

Tech4Good South West (05:22.67)

The purpose is changing as well. And we wanted to move away from some of the elements within the old brand so that as we look to the future, we're really harnessing what Tech for Good Southwest stands for and will do and what it means to people, but not really losing sight of the past and its roots. On a functional level, there are different elements within the logo.

There is more emphasis on the good, putting more balance and harmony into the tech. The colours that we're drawing upon are warm, inclusive. And I guess overall what we're trying to do is Tech for Good is changing.

Tech for Good South West is about something for everyone so that everyone can get behind it and extract whatever element of what Tech for Good means for them and really embrace it and employ it. But also about moving forwards and taking action.

So it was really important that the logo represented connection, community, curiosity, but most importantly, change. Well, it's really amazing and I've seen it and yeah, it's really exciting and this is such a good time.

Thank you so much for coming on board as a sponsor. Is there anything else that you want to say, Emma?

I think to anyone out there, check out Tech For Good Southwest, naturally. There are so many different things we can do and play a part even at a small level or a much larger level.

That's great and it's brilliant talking to you as always and actually on that note as well make sure anybody listening to this also checks out a full episode that we did with you Emma back last year an episode by you in full so I really recommend that people listen to that so thank you so much for joining us today.

Oh thank you.