Doing the right thing? Keeping IT equipment out of landfill | London South branch

Synopsis Computers for Charities (CfC) is a Sussex based charity operating since 1994. CfC turned the tide on the practice of IT reuse & recycling well before the introduction of WEEE. Its objective is to aid the UK voluntary sector and utilise more fully the waste products of the IT industry by helping organisations to donate redundant IT to charity securely and safely. To date, over 500,000 computers have avoided landfill, benefiting thousands of charities and schools. Moreover, CfC has aided the charity sector to develop sustainable programmes. African Schools Online is one example, providing first-time computer access to 100,000 children and their communities. CfC does not operate independently. It is an advisor to governments, including former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, the European Commission and Overseas Ministers, among others. Some 106 countries have benefited from CfC's input. Needless to say CfC is not funded - however, corporate support has been the vital key throughout. In this session, Simon Rooksby highlights some of the charity's success stories over the last 30 years and explains the multiple challenges it had to overcome along the way. If you're interested in "Making IT Good for Society", come along and find out how you and your organisation can make a material difference. About the speaker Simon Rooksby is founder and chairman of trustees for CfC. Formerly a clinician within the NHS and with zero background in IT, he was put in charge of implementing a program into west Kent health services in 1992 - with no budget. CfC was born out of the synthesis of Simon's experiences in the Bosnian war of 1992 and his realisation that such programmes could only function on charitable principles.