A global effort towards Digital Inclusion Dr. Costis Toregas Taipei June 2006.

A global effort towards

Digital Inclusion

Dr. Costis Toregas

Taipei June 2006

The beginning: May 2006

…We the participants of the W2i Seventh Digital Cities Convention in Los Angeles discussed the issue of digital inclusion, heard from

experts in the field from the academic, the business and the governmental environment and decided to assemble our deliberations

and suggestions for action in a Resolution….

Defining Digital Inclusion

• Digital Divide: Lack of access to, and proficiency in interacting with, information/communication technologies (ICT)

• Digital Divide: The difference between the rate of technological innovation and the rate of absorption/usage in the population.

Four tiers of inequity

• Access

• Accessibility

• Inclusion

• and Social Equity– Procedural– Distributional– Outcome

The three As of technology are not individually enough

• Availability

• Affordability

• Accessibility

A framework to use

• Compliance

• Experience

• Relationship

• Societal transformation

Key factors

• the participation of the local Community is imperative to the inclusiveness of any digital community

• a hands-on coaching approach to the introduction of digital technologies into any community helps to ensure that the technology will be used in a meaningful and beneficial way by individuals in the community.

We are convinced that technology can play a major role in its resolution, and offer the following strategies for adoption and implementation by all governmental entities, industry and other stake holders

Actions for local governments

• Encourage the explicit articulation of a digital inclusion strategy as part of municipal policy at local, as well as national level.

• Tie ITC investments to outcomes in the inclusion arena• Undertake pilot projects which can sensitize the population to the

benefits of inclusion in economic development, leveraging human capital and other local assets

• Carefully consider the role of privacy legislation in the deployment of connectivity and data use solutions, and craft strong leadership roles for local elected officials

• Consider legislative action that can mandate the reduction of procedural, distributional and outcome inequities in governmental service delivery, and build a strong case for the role of broadband wireless and other technology in promoting their elimination

• Begin to collect inclusion definitions and metrics and report inclusion metrics to highlight progress made, as well as identify the role of culture in differences that may persist

Actions for industry

• Promote inclusion solutions in a targeted manner

• Develop information and analysis of the benefits of an inclusion policy surrounding the use of industry solutions by government

• Deploy and promote small scale, inexpensive and quick-to-market applications that impact many of the underprivileged

Actions for W2i

• Consider a funding strategy (grants, sponsorships, contracts for service to industry) which would establish and operate a digital inclusion bibliography, a data base of best practices in inclusion and the creation of a statistical data base on the extent of broadband penetration and other relevant, needed statistics

• Announce the new category of Inclusion in the W2i awards program and find a sponsor whose funding would permit a major communications campaign around best of breed dissemination annually

• Begin to collect inclusion definitions and metrics in each host site of W2i events and report inclusion metrics to highlight progress made, as well as identify the role of culture in differences that may persist

Can we hope for including Taipei?