There are moments, usually quiet ones, when a year folds back on itself and you suddenly see the path you’ve taken. This has been one of those moments for me.
- It’s now over a year since I stepped away from national digital inclusion work. Not dramatically — simply recognising that my energy, my instinct and my responsibility pointed back toward Whanganui, where the work is personal and where the people are not statistics but neighbours.
- It’s also a year since Digital Inclusion Whanganui began to take shape. Quietly at first, with careful conversations, listening more than speaking, and ensuring any new steps would be respectful, grounded and practical.
Now, as the year closes, that groundwork is turning into real activity. The most significant step — and the first public one — is the launch of SENSE Whanganui, beginning with weekly cyber safety drop-ins at the Gonville Library, every Monday from 10am to 12pm starting on 24 November. 👉For more information – Click here
This is the real milestone
- A place where anyone can walk in, sit down, ask questions, talk through worries, or simply learn something new about staying safe online — in a way that feels friendly, local and without judgement. It’s open to everyone in Whanganui, and it’s designed specifically for the people who often need reassurance the most.
Echoes of the past
Every situation is shaped by what came before it. In my case, much of the way I understand digital inclusion comes from my involvement with the Computers in Homes programme, which began here in Whanganui twenty years ago.
- One of the earliest schools to take part was Tawhero School, close to the Swiss Avenue/Lorenzdale Park area. Many years later, that work still influences me. Computers in Homes wasn’t perfect, but it showed what’s possible when people are met with dignity, patience and consistency.
But simply doing “better than the past” isn’t enough. If we only revise old ideas, they tend to produce old outcomes. Fairness for the future requires imagination, humility and a willingness to build things the community can genuinely own.
Beyond “better”
Whanganui doesn’t need a better version of national programmes — it needs local solutions built from local realities. That is where SENSE Whanganui comes in.
- We’re starting with the drop-ins at Gonville Library because that’s where trust already lives. The librarians know their community. People feel comfortable there. They come for company, information, warmth, safety — and now digital confidence.
Alongside the drop-ins, we’ll also be present at community gatherings where it’s appropriate. One of these is Stone Soup in Lorenzdale Park — a long-standing neighbourhood initiative and a good place to offer a brief digital safety kōrero to residents in the surrounding streets. It’s a gentle first step, but it’s not the main public activity.
The library drop-ins are free and open to all, and they’re simply the first of many opportunities to connect in ways that are meaningful, accessible and supportive.
Fairness and the future
If we want everyone to move forward fairly, we have to start with how people actually live.
- Digital inclusion isn’t only about cables, devices or skills. It’s about dignity.
- It’s about easing anxiety for someone who’s worried about scams.
- It’s about being patient with anyone who thinks they’re “too old for this”.
- It’s about helping whānau feel more confident online without embarrassment or pressure.
The Cyber Safe Whanganui survey — now in its final stages — will help guide where energy goes in 2026. But listening face-to-face in the drop-ins may teach us just as much, if not more, than any form ever could.
- Fairness begins with people feeling safe enough to ask for help.
- And that’s exactly what SENSE Whanganui is designed to support.
👉 Click Here to take the Cyber Security Survey (Google Form)
A sense of place
The deeper I move into this mahi, the more I realise that digital inclusion isn’t really about technology — it’s about place. It’s about whether people feel connected to the world around them, or quietly left outside it.
- Whanganui has a long memory. People remember who showed up, who listened, who made things easier rather than harder. The future of digital inclusion here must honour that memory — not overwrite it.
- Perhaps that’s why this moment feels significant. I’m returning to work I first carried out two decades ago, but with a clearer sense of kaupapa, responsibility and purpose.
- It isn’t a celebration. It’s an acknowledgement.
A quiet marker of change.
Filling in the blanks
A few evenings ago, I scribbled some notes across a page — thoughts about the past, the future, and the spaces in between. Looking at them again, they felt like the title for this moment: filling in the blanks.
- Not reinventing Whanganui.
- Not repeating what came before.
- But gently shaping the spaces in between — with fairness, with care, with open doors, and with a deep sense of place.
The year is nearly over. The work is only beginning. And it feels like the right time to take a confident, careful step forward — for all of us.
Updated Author’s Note
Alistair Fraser founded Digital Inclusion Whanganui in 2025 after many years working in digital equity, including the Computers in Homes programme. Based in Whanganui, his mahi focuses on fair access, safety and confidence for those most at risk of digital exclusion. He works closely with local partners to build community-anchored initiatives such as SENSE Whanganui and Cyber Safe Whanganui.
This blog post is a collaborative creation by Alistair Fraser, with the innovative assistance of OpenAI’s ChatGPT 5 highlighting the synergy of human creativity and advanced AI technology.