Dr Sangeet Bhullar, Executive Director, WISE KIDS
Sangeet is the Founder and Executive Director of WISE KIDS, a non-profit company promoting Digital Literacy, Digital Citizenship and Wellbeing for young people, families, communities and businesses. WISE KIDS aims to ensure that young and old are supported to develop the necessary digital competencies and expertise, as well as their sense of agency and wellbeing to thrive, online and offline. WISE KIDS delivers user-centred training programmes, consultancy, research and resource development to promote this agenda.
In her role at WISE KIDS, Sangeet has developed and delivering training programmes, written guidance, advised organisations and spoken at conferences internationally on the topics of Digital Literacy in Education, Digital Citizenship, Digital Participation and Online Safety.
Her work includes leading a large scale research project called Generation 2000 (which was co-funded by WISE KIDS, the Children’s Commissioner for Wales, Logicalis and S4C) on the Digital Media Habits and Digital Literacy of Year 9 pupils across Wales; her international work includes working with the Ministry for Women and Communities in Malaysia, as well as working with the Ministry of Education in Singapore to review and update their secondary school Cyber Wellness curriculum. Sangeet believes strongly in the need for proactive programmes to help young people and professionals develop the digital literacies needed to be effective contributors and participants in the knowledge economy. Sangeet is a board member of WikimediaUK, and a member of the Welsh Government Digital Inclusion Management Board. She is married to a Welshman, and has three children. Prior to June 2002, Sangeet and her family lived and worked for nearly ten years in Singapore. She tweets as @sangeet.
Naomi Ohaka, Graphics and Multimedia Communications Officer
Naomi is our associate design and graphics expert. Her passion for graphic design can be traced back to her primary school days, and stems from her love for drawing and her buzzing creative mindset. She is a young mum and a recent graphic design graduate from the University of Bedfordshire, Naomi. She was the elected course representative when she was in education, and values the opportunity to learn and develop herself. She is excited to be creating graphics for WISE KIDS. You can find some of her work via Instagram: @navonics.
Ms Kim Anderson, Training and Programme Developer
Kim, formerly a Board Member of WISE KIDS supports WISE KIDS in the development of creative drama programmes to help young people develop digital life skills and reflect on the opportunities and challenges of the online space, and which get the young people to reflect on issues such as identity, reputation, opportunity, privacy and behaviour in digital spaces.
Mr David Wilcox, Digital Inclusion & Digital Engagement Programme Advisor
David started his working life as a reporter, then helped set up local development trusts and partnerships, before getting excited by his first site of the web in 1994 and managing to get to one of the first events on community networks in the US. He came back to set up UK communities online and other networks aiming to blend social technology with other methods for social good. He is developing the role of socialreporter – using a mix of media methods, online and offline, to tell stories, connect people and ideas, and help others adopt social technology for social benefit. David is co-author of Social by Social, a handbook on social technology for social impact, produced for NESTA in 2009, and a number of other books on participation and partnerships. He can be found on Twitter as @davidwilcox
Steve Khaireh MBE, Youth Facilitator and Online Radicalisation Advisor
Steve is a professionally qualified (JNC) Youth and Community Worker, who came through the ranks as a youth club member and volunteer. He has worked extensively with young people and communities in the statutory and voluntary sectors. Steve worked as a community education officer in Cardiff for 26 years. He also worked for the Somali Integration Society and is a fomer Chair of Governors for Fitzalan High School. He is currently managing director of Fresh Slate, a Community Interest Company. Over the years, Steve has worked in his own time on numerous planned programmes of personal and social education covering health, social crime prevention, sport and music projects earning him many national youth work excellence awards and an MBE
Steve is passionate about the potential of young people to be the best they can be. Wherever possible he empowers young people to deliver programmes themselves, and gets them involved at every stage of governance and decision making, from self-recruitment to being part of the management committee. In recent years, Steve has also been involved in delivering training programmes to tackle youth radicalisation.
Michelle Jones, Non-Executive Director
Michelle Jones has recently retired as CEO for The Parent Network, an organisation that supports family and community networks and where she worked for the last 9 years. Michelle’s involvement with WISE KIDS started at a young people’s online safety event where the spare seat in the hall placed Sangeet next to her. Michelle began her journey as a qualified Graphic Designer but after the birth of her two sons started to revaluate her career. Starting out as a Childminder she went on to study a Youth, Community and Playworker degree, then took on a PGCE to become an adult education tutor. This was followed by Leadership and ICT training at Edinburgh University. Since retraining Michelle has worked across Wales, with community, statutory and the private sector, but her heart is in the 3rd sector where she has worked for the past 21 years. Although retired from the Parent Network, Michelle is still working creatively! She is an artist and printmaker, a mindfulness teacher, Reiki Master and Champissage practitioner. She has an extremely patient husband who has fully supported her journey and two sons who are both artists and musicians in their own right. Michelle is passionate about everyone having a chance to reach their own potential no matter what their age or circumstances.
WISE KIDS Teen Panel
WISE KIDS also works with a group of young people who form the volunteer WISE KIDS Teen Panel. They help inform WISE KIDS of issues facing young people using Internet and Digital technologies. They are also trained by WISE KIDS to use the Internet innovatively, positively and safely. If your school, youth centre or library would like to find out more about how they can get involved, do get in touch by sending us an email.