Go ON Liverpool – by Martha Lane Fox

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Created on Wednesday, 23 November 2011

One of the things that I have enjoyed most in the last month have been two trips to Liverpool. Working closely with Liverpool Vision and the council, Race Online 2012 has been encouraging local partners to create 5000 digital champions and inspiration for the 92k Liverpudlians who have never used the internet to give it a try. This is a big offline population in a city of 400k and when you combine it with the fact that they tend to come from the lowest income households it makes the problem even more pressing.

I didn't know Liverpool well before starting this role but I am now very impressed with the city. It is the host of the Global Entrepreneurship Congress next year and I think it is the perfect place for it. An example of its pragmatism and tenacity has to be that the council created an embassy in the city of London – aware that some people were just never going to be tempted to do the 2 hour train ride but aware branding and promotion are vital for investment.

The Go ON Liverpool project is going well but I think that the thing I loved most about the city was the incredible spirit of the women I met. Jo Nolan has been our main point of contact at the council and she is indefatigable. Whether it was accosting strangers in the station to get them to sign up or documenting our every move with photos and video for social media, she was brilliant. I also loved visiting Blackburne House, a refuge for women to learn new skills in a safe environment and with childcare on hand. The class of women I met all learning IT skills were fun, feisty and came from all over the globe.

I also did a short speech for WICED – an entrepreneurship network for women and found the buzz and questions a mark of all the great people in the room. I cant wait for my next visit!