E-Inclusion and the Digital Divide

Origins of E-Inclusion

E-inclusion originated in efforts within the European Union in the early 2000s to find ways to bring the benefits of ICTs to all segments of the population, including those who might be isolated because of education, age, gender, ethnicity, disability, or geographical location. In its 2010 Digital Agenda for Europe Communication, the European Union's Information Society and Media Directorate-General noted (Sec. 2.6) that the digital era should focus on empowerment and emancipation and that background or skills should not be a barrier to accessing individual potential.

The 2010 World Congress on Information Technology in Amsterdam featured a track on E-inclusion and produced a position paper that emphasized the centrality of participation in a society that is becoming more and more digitalized. Acquiring skills was to be seen as only one aspect of a larger process of inclusion.

A contributing stream of policy perspectives comes from the field of disability studies, via the concept of universal design. This approach concentrates on removing barriers to access for the differently abled. For example, meta-data tagging is used with illustrations to ensure that those with limited vision know what is being shown on a web page.

E-Inclusion Projects in Action

A number of E-inclusion projects are under way in the European Union. E-Ruralnet operates in 11 countries and provides access to e-learning materials for enhancing learning opportunities in rural areas, with focus on helping the self-employed and persons seeking employment. Strands of activity include identifying access problems for rural populations, alternative media, and games-based learning.

In Spain, “third sector” (nongovernmental and nonprofit) organizations have been slow to bring new, interactive (“Web 2.0”) social networking tools into use, with the result that older and more rural citizens are still not able to enjoy the full benefits of the Internet. New ways to use these tools in these settings were encouraged by EU researchers.

Gender is another issue central to E-inclusion. A study of how male and female users differentially accessed government websites found that differences in usage cannot be explained by a general lack of interest in, or experience with, technology but rather are more likely due to continuing differences in laws, customs, and political and cultural norms.

In the United States, http://E-Democracy.org has promoted use of ICTs for developing and fostering democratic engagement at the local level. Some of their projects include mobilized inclusive social media for low-income, immigrant neighborhoods. An initiative by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) aims to create a new “Framework for Digitally Inclusive Communities” by identifying principles, elements, and characteristics of organizations and communities that foster digital inclusion.

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