Jay Baker, a media activist and graduate of the School for Social Entrepreneurs and founder of SilenceBreaker Media, first launched this non-profit organisation under that name in 2010 – with an aim to engage disadvantaged communities in vocalising issues important to them through multimedia created using refurbished computers donated by various local companies.
One of the first priorities at this time was identifying a base of operations to work from, big enough to store and refurbish the computers, and the site at 1 Bowling Green Street, not far from Sheffield's city centre, was completely renovated in order to carry this out, having a significant impact on the regeneration of the area.
Volunteers regularly met at the site to gain experience, while students from the two universities would also lend their skills to mix-and-match computer parts that went towards desktops and laptops later used in community activities – from which, two volunteers even progressed to the board of directors of the not-for-profit limited company by then known as Libre Digital, broadening its focus on media technology.
It soon became clear that digital exclusion was a huge issue across the subregion of South Yorkshire, and so the FreeTech Project was specifically launched to run across libraries to help people in their own communities gain and retain skills to continue their own technology meetups in areas such as Thorne and Edlington (which continues to this day).
When Covid-19 first hit in 2020, workshops continued online but, like many, Libre Digital did not go unscathed from a pandemic that still in fact continues – founding director, fundraiser and researcher Jane Watkinson struck with myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.) caused by Covid and first decreasing her workload, then being forced to sadly quit work altogether. There have been numerous other challenges too, from the beleaguered high street to ongoing austerity and the related shrinking of the voluntary sector.
Rather than continue and run the risk of lower standards, everyone remaining involved in running Libre Digital has collectively agreed to "quit while we're winning" and cease operations in this, its fifteenth year, to end on a high note. There is still the ongoing FreeTech Project, supported by The National Lottery Community Fund, running into the spring of 2026, after which point operations will be wrapped up neatly. Congratulations to everyone involved throughout all the years and all the best for future challenges!