Digital Inclusion in the spotlight

This has been an unusually busy week across the mainstream press for the issues around Digital Inclusion:
- Ofcom “set out the next steps to ensure availability, take-up and effective use of communications services” promising to address not-spots, support disabled customers and ensure easier access to emergency services, they also launched The Consortium in response to the Digtial Britain report published earlier in the year.

- The Consortium (launched by Ofcom Chairman Colette Bowe and Minister for Digital Britain Stephen Timms MP) aims to increase the reach, breadth and depth of digital technology use.
Read about it here
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consumer/2009/10/consortium-launch/
the DC10plus network is delighted to be play a part in The Consortium.

- Also this week the BBC launch their Online Access Forum with Seetha Kumar as their Online Access Champion … in her own words Seetha explains why digital inclusion matters … she doesn’t say anything much new but reinforces everything that the other Champion - the Digital Inclusion one has been saying …
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2009/10/online_access_forum_why_digita.html

- Talking of the Digital Inclusion Champion, Martha Lane Fox has been on or in pretty much every single available broadsheet or broadcast channel this week talking about the launch of RaceOnline 2012 “A rallying call to the country to get 4 million of the most disadvantaged people online over the next 3 years.”

You can see listen to her interview on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme here (07.15)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8304000/8304002.stm

http://www.actionforblindpeople.org.uk/data/files/mlf-podcast-final-1105.mp3

Read articles
http://www.epolitix.com/latestnews/article-detail/newsarticle/web-inclusion-champion-urges-creative-solutions/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/audio/2009/oct/13/tech-weekly-podcast-martha-lane-fox-digital-inclusion-arduino-micro-men

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/6308547/Martha-Lane-Fox-over-10-million-in-UK-never-been-online.html

http://www.retail-week.com/multichannel/online-retail/retail-can-close-the-online-divide/5007019.article

http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=268499

http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2251182/closing-digital-divide

and even watch online on the BBC HardTalk programme
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/8303522.stm

So; task forces, champions, consortia …surely with this much attention being paid to the disadvantaged people who are paying an extra £560 a year on shopping and bill paying through not being online, some progress will be made. Government both central and local, corporates and the third sector all realise the importance of reaching out to and engaging with these digitally excluded people… Barnsley, under the determined guidance of Martin Cantor has committed to getting everybody in Barnsley online by 2012 with their Totally Online Barnsley project. Guess where Martha will be spending Get Online Day on 23rd October

The England footie game was online the other night maybe that will have encouraged a few more people online or will do so over time … however at this point the speed of Internet Access becomes an issue several people missed goals due to their wonky internet connections and Johann Tasker from Rural Focus pointed out on Twitter that he couldn’t even get a fast enough connection to watch it had he even wanted to as he lives in a broadband not spot … which brings us back to Ofcom.

Finland has made broadband access a legal right for all it’s citizens … now there’s an idea.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/oct/14/finland-broadband

In the meantime DC10plus members carry on working with the socially excluded in their areas - and maybe that is the nub of it - addressing social exclusion is key - something which Milton Keynes have succeed in achieving with their ConnectMK project, and Peoples Voice Media do from their Salford base through teaching the use of social media and community reporting to improve life skills, confidence and employment opportunities. http://www.peoplesvoicemedia.co.uk

This entry was posted on Friday, October 16, 2009 at 4:03. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can also leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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2 Responses to “Digital Inclusion in the spotlight”

1. admin says:
   October 16, 2009, 4:15

   … and I have just read that Age Concern are also looking for their own Digital Champion http://tinyurl.com/yjrt3cd

   to motivate other people to get online .. you have to be over 55 to apply

2. admin says:
   October 18, 2009, 4:29

   From Helen Milner via Twitter @jimkinghtmp is only digital inclusion minister for DWP. NOT as reported here http://bit.ly/2vRUH0

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