Hello, and welcome back to our monthly newsletter!

The most rewarding aspects of our work lie in the opportunities and potential to make a tangible, positive difference to the lives of people in Greater Manchester. 

This month, we've been thrilled to see the early impact of our AI Roadshows on people within the local community. 

These interactive training and discussion sessions are part of the first phase of the People’s Panel for AI project, developed in collaboration with The Manchester Metropolitan University. The initiative aims to democratise approaches to AI by empowering residents with the knowledge & skills to meaningfully shape the use of AI in front line service delivery.

We've been privileged to receive an overwhelmingly positive response from residents, with participants indicating high levels of enjoyment and a significant improvement in their understanding of AI. Over a third of participants will also become part of the People’s Panel for AI, which will provide opportunities to apply their training to real-world use cases by sharing concerns, insights, and feedback.

It's crucial that all our residents have access to the essential skills, knowledge, services and resources to fully participate in the digital ecosystem and benefit from its many opportunities. We are so pleased to see that the AI Roadshows have helped people from underserved communities to grow the skills, knowledge, and confidence needed to thrive in an increasingly digital world. . 

We're excited to continue exploring the ways in which we can work together to make Manchester a fairer, more equitable, and inclusive place to live - and drive our city towards a future where everyone can benefit from advances in technology.

This month, we're sharing an exciting new development for connectivity in our City Centre; unveiling our full agenda for AI for All; and exploring how our incredible Digital Inclusion team has supported social prescribers to connect their clients with the training, skills, and resources needed to access the benefits of technology. 

Happy reading, and see you next month!

A busy day in Manchester City Centre can prevent your calls and messages from reaching their destinations speedily. We've all received the dreaded "not delivered" response! 

Thanks to a new agreement between Manchester City Council and infrastructure-as-a-service provider Freshwave, dropped calls and slow internet access could soon be a thing of the past. 

Large numbers of people all using their phones at once can increase the demand on mobile networks. This can be a particular problem in busy urban areas, such as town centres. Outdoor small cells - low powered antennas that provide coverage and capacity in a similar way to a tower - can help meet some of this demand. Usually attached to existing street furniture, such as utility poles or lampposts, small cells can provide a discrete way to boost mobile capacity and improve signal.  

The new small cells will be connected to Virgin Media O2's fibre network, and will help to bring convenient, reliable, high-speed connectivity to Manchester City Centre. We're thrilled to have played a part in helping more people to access the internet, make calls and send messages more reliably - meaning you should see "not delivered" a lot less! 

To find out more about the ways in which the agreement could help provide a better mobile service for residents, visitors, and businesses in Manchester City Centre, check out the full story below. 

How better to usher in the bank holiday weekend than with tech talks, the Batmobile, & an interview with Britain’s leading illusionist?

No, this wasn’t a fever dream - rather, a wonderfully surreal outing to DTX 360. Featuring a range of speakers from across & beyond our tech ecosystem, we were excited to take part in one of the North’s leading IT & Enterprise events.

After watching an interview with the inimitable Derren Brown – as hosted by our very own Digital Strategy Lead Sherelle Fairweather - there could be no competition for our stand-out moment. While the team might have mischievously hoped for a few adventures in on-stage hypnotism, Sherelle and Derren’s talk exploring resilience, burnout, & our pursuit of the often-intangible concept of “happiness” left us with plenty of food for thought!

Bouncing between the philosophy of Stoicism; the power of internal and external narratives in shaping our sense of self; & the difference between the pursuit of goals & the pursuit of purpose; the interview raised powerful questions about how we are served by our beliefs & the stories we tell ourselves.

To learn more about Derren's talk, and discover more highlights from the event, read the full article by clicking on the link below.

The true impact of an event is often demonstrated in the discussion it provokes, & DTX’s talks kept us deep in conversation long after we’d had left!

With less than two weeks to go before AI for All, we're looking forward to welcoming new faces and old friends from across Manchester to enjoy a day of presentations, discussions, and debate. 

After some brilliantly inspiring discussions with panellists this week, we can promise that our guests are in for some seriously passionate and thought-provoking conversations.

If you're curious as to what we've got in store, our full agenda is now live on our website!

Featuring leading voices from across the AI ecosystem, AI for All will address the ethical implications of AI, human-centred design, strategies for building trust in AI systems, and the need for inclusivity to ensure that AI benefits all of society. There'll also be opportunities to get hands-on with some of the AI-enabled tools being developed to address some of the biggest challenges in our society. 

Further details about the incredible speakers supporting our event can also be found on our social media channels - so make sure to keep an eye out!