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Digital inclusion definition
Posted by irislapinski on June 16th, 2009
Digital inclusion in the UK does not only mean the digital divide, but has a far broader meaning in policy terms. The Digital Inclusion Team came up with the following description:
Digital Inclusion means different things to different people:
- giving people the basic ICT skills to participate in the knowledge economy leading to improved macro-economic performance
- closing the Digital Divide — the gap between those enabled and empowered to participate in information and knowledge based society and those who are not.
- making technology and electronic services accessible and usable for people with disabilities or the elderly
- giving people broadband internet access
- preventing economic exclusion from electronic commercial and public services that save time and money
- preventing social exclusion from digitally connected communities
- using any digital technology to tackle social exclusion
- using any digital technology in communities to tackle area-based deprivation
One phrase that captures the essence of most such interpretations is:
The use of technology either directly or indirectly to improve the lives and life chances of people and the places in which they live
The Digital Inclusion Team focuses on stimulating innovation to achieve the last two in this list. Consequently, the meaning of “digital inclusion” for the Team is:
The use of technology either directly or indirectly to improve the lives and life chances of disadvantaged people and the places in which they live.
I do not want to be to philosophical about this, but it basically shows that the term digital inclusion in a UK policy context means so much more than making sure that people have access to skills, confidence and computers to be empowered and to turn around their lives. It includes e-government and public service delivery, telecare (at least for some) and high-speed broadband infrastructure access. Sometimes also digital television and mobile phones are included as alternative platforms to achieve digital inclusion. So digital inclusion means very different things to different people. Mental note: use with caution!
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[...] So while universal high-speed broadband is the continuation of the access to IT focus in the 1990s, mobile Internet skills are the extension of the digital inclusion focus on skills and training in order to close the Digital Divide. If you need a reminder of how broad the definition of digital inclusion is in the UK, please have a look at this post. [...]