Approach

We are working with and for women in Dundee to explore what an affirming community internet might look and feel like. Through this process we will work with grassroots organisers and local communities to develop a virtual platform and explore services that support and affirm the lives of women in Dundee.

ddcommon.net aims to increase placed-based digital inclusion through affirmative digital spaces

Why affirmative?

What “affirming” means here: Affirming means actively recognising, validating, and supporting the full humanity of women in all their diversity. It is a commitment to creating conditions where people feel seen, believed, and encouraged to exist and express themselves without apology.

In an affirming community:

• People’s identities, stories, and bodies are respected rather than questioned or judged.
• Difference is treated as a source of knowledge and richness, not something to be tolerated.
• Care, consent, and mutual accountability are central practices, not afterthoughts.
• Members are supported not just to survive, but to flourish.

Affirmation is relational and political: it pushes back against systems that deny worth, visibility, or safety, and replaces them with practices of care, solidarity, and collective empowerment.

Why place-based?

Unlike the norms of big tech that extract from people and communities, pollute the planet, and only supply set services, our online platform will aim to care for and affirm the lives and needs of the people and communities who use it - in this first instance, those located in Dundee and across Tayside.

People are more likely to seek support from services they trust, which are often based in their local area. Communities have long played a role in addressing local challenges, and every place have people, places, and partnerships that can be nurtured and strengthened to help solve shared problems.

So, we aim to understand the unique digital needs and challenges faced by women in Dundee. What are the barriers to access, who is included and excluded, what are the opportunities and where are the gaps? Also, to understand the levels of abuse, toxicity or fear being experienced and to find collective ways of dealing with this at a very local level. On the ground work is already being done in this area, however by providing an alternative way of being and connecting online will strengthen and sustain this work.

SCVO describe here more on place-based digital inclusion.

Just for women?

Although this project centres women, anyone who identifies as a woman, including cis women, trans women, non-binary people and others connected to women’s spaces, we by no means want to exclude. We wish to foreground voices and perspectives that have historically been marginalised in this space, while resisting narrow or exclusionary interpretations. We believe diverse, intersectional lived experiences will strengthen our work, and welcome any allies who want to help build a safer, more caring, and inclusive digital space.

If you're interested, give us a shout!

Here's where you can get involved