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The domain ‘social inclusion’ addresses the digital
divide in Europe, and particularly those dimensions of it related to
income, age, gender, ethnicity or ability. It is assumed that
narrowing the digital divide is an important contribution to the
larger objective of achieving sustained social inclusion in the
information society. Beep will showcase good practices aiming
towards narrowing the digital divide.
It has widely been recognised that the promises of
the information society cannot be realised if too many people are
"falling through the net", i.e. if they are not in a position to
participate in and benefit from this development. If the emerging
digital economy is to become a major driving force for Europe's
economic well-being, it will be a major policy challenge to ensure
that as many Europeans as possible have available the information
tools and skills that are critical to their participation.
Otherwise, there is the threat of a widening "digital divide" – a
term that refers to the gaps in access to information and
communication technologies and networks, either because of lacking
economic resources or because of lacking skills.
When talking about social inclusion and the digital
divide, attention needs to be paid not to confuse cause and effect.
It can reasonably be argued that the digital divide is currently
just an expression of an overall (and world-wide) social divide
rather than a cause of it. Since the use of digital technologies
will continue to play a key role in the future information society,
however, there is a danger of mutual reinforcement. People from
disadvantaged social groups who cannot afford access to and usage of
ICTs are threatened to fall further behind and to become excluded
from information society opportunities. If this argument holds true,
closing the social gap (in terms of a fair distribution of wealth)
will have as a pre-requisite that there is no significant digital
gap. Therefore, counteracting the digital divide can be regarded as
a policy instrument and means directed toward social inclusion. “The
policy rationale,” states the OECD, “are the social benefits derived
from the spillovers and positive externalities associated with
diffusion and greater use of ICTs and related improvements to the
skills base.”
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The danger is that the current digital divide will
widen rather than close if no pro-active policy measures are being
taken. This is not just theoretical, but there is empirical evidence
e.g. in the United States, where the fourth report in the “Falling
through the Net” series (October 2000) concludes that “the overall
level of U.S. digital inclusion is rapidly increasing. [...]
Nonetheless, a digital divide remains and has expanded in some
cases, even while internet access and computer ownership are rising
rapidly for almost all groups.”
BEEP will collect European and international best
practices in how to narrow the digital divide. The divide may occur
on various levels: between different countries and regions, between
different demographic groups within a country, e.g. between young
and old people, between men and women, between high income and low
income families, between different ethnic groups, but also between
large and small companies. The “Social Inclusion” domain of the BEEP
project will collect cases relating mainly to those dimensions of
the digital divide caused by income, age, gender, ethnicity or
ability and develop indicators describing and benchmarking these
initiatives. Regional issues will be dealt with in the domain
“Regional Development”, potential gaps between large and small sized
enterprises in the digital economy will be an important issue in the
domain “The Digital SME”.
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