With only 14% of English Heritage’s London Blue Plaques celebrating women, InLinkUK, the company behind the new community communications product replacing BT phone boxes, has teamed up with the charity to increase awareness of the ‘call to action’ for local London residents to nominate local female heroes that deserve celebrating to address the gender imbalance in London’s blue plaques.
Across the capital, there are over 900 plaques paying homage to the significant men and women who have lived or worked in these properties, linking the residents of the past with the buildings of the present. As part of their commitment to improve local amenities and in turn, engage with the community, InLinkUK will be showing blue plaques in each borough on its screens and enabling a search function for users to see where they can find them.
The idea behind the project is to make London a more inclusive place publicly and to champion the success of women, encouraging locals to connect with their local surroundings and enable residents to understand how women in particular have helped to create the rich history of the areas in which they live.
Cathy Power, Blue Plaques Manager at English Heritage, said: “We are delighted that this initiative will highlight some of the remarkable women who have lived and worked in London. The thought that a blue plaque to a heroine from the past is just around the corner might even persuade a busy present day Londoner to take a detour on their journey and hopefully inspire them to nominate more women.”
Matt Bird, General Manager at InLinkUK commented: “We are pleased to support the more plaques for women campaign with English Heritage by displaying these across our InLinks in London boroughs and addressing the gender imbalance in London’s blue plaques.
Residents will be able to use the InLink digital services on the screens and tablet to find out more information about the inspirational women commemorated across the borough who deserve celebrating. InLink is helping to bring that history to life in an engaging way while also improving local amenities that provide direct benefits for the community. The services offered by each InLink are free for everyone, including; ultrafast Wi-Fi, phone calls, interactive maps, device charging, an emergency 999 call button and content that connects people with their local community.”
