E-Inclusion

e-Inclusion or digital inclusion, written "eInclusion" when referring to specific policies, is the term used within the European Union to encompass activities related to the achievement of an inclusive information society. In this vein, new developments in technology turns the risk of a digital divide into "digital cohesion" and opportunity, bringing the benefit of the Internet and related technology into all segments of the population, including people who are disadvantaged due to education (a specific subset called "e-Competences"), age (called "e-Ageing"), gender, disabilities (called "e-Accessibility"), ethnicity, and/or those living in remote regions (subject to the "geographical digital divide"). E-inclusion covers mainly the development of appropriate policies, maintenance of a knowledge base, research & technology development and deployment, & best practices dissemeination. At EU level e-Inclusion is part ot the third pillar of the 2010 policy initiative, managed by Directorate-General for Information Society and Media of the European Commission.

Next to these formal activities within the context of the EU, many people are and have been using the Internet to try to earn a living with all kinds of activities, while working at home. Known examples are the large group of "work-at-home-moms" across the Globe. Other groups that are often excluded are people that have been laid off after reorganisations or that are over 50.

e-Accessibility includes computer accessibility; approaches are essentially based on inclusion and the social model of disability as it applies to information technology goods and services; the Design for All principle, also called universal design or inclusive development in other fora, means availability of adequate assistive technology. e-Competences is a new term covering skills, knowledge and attitude relevant to education in the context of an inclusive information society; see also e-Learning and inclusive classroom in this area of accessibility to the differently-abled.

Benefits of E-Inclusion

A report by FreshMinds Research [ [http://www.freshminds.co.uk/research Home | FreshMinds Research ] ] into the "Economic benefits of digital inclusion" was published in May 2008 by UK Online Centres [ [http://www.ukonlinecentres.com/corporate/images/stories/downloads/economic%20benefits%20of%20digital%20inclusion%20-%20building%20the%20evidence.pdf 13987 Digital Inclusion Report:Layout 2 ] ] . The report outlines three key benefits of digital inclusion:

* Digital inclusion is capable of enhancing opportunity for both individuals and organisations.ICT-assisted learning has been shown not only to stimulate learning but can also be demonstrablyrelated to academic achievement at GCSE level. Customer choice is also greatly enhanced through digitalinclusion, which secures better deals for users while stimulating competition in the market. Commercialorganisations also benefit hugely from digital inclusion in reaching out to more customers and attractinghigher spend, in addition to the obvious internal benefits related to higher efficiencies.
* Digital inclusion has immense potential in cutting the cost of public service delivery. Examples of such savings include efficiencies stemming from new electronic processes replacing traditional services, whichmake customer interactions a lot cheaper. Such schemes are increasingly rolled out across different publicsector services, ranging from health to vehicle licensing, and their full potential is likely to be much wider.In addition, there are potentially significant impacts for the wider economy – the Government anticipatespublic spending on e-government and digital literacy programmes to yield returns of between 1.1and 1.5% of GDP increase in 2008-10.
* There are multiple indications of digital inclusion’s ability to improve society. Expanding access to ICT for marginalised groups is likely to reduce their socialexclusion simply through facilitating access and participation, while the potential of the internet as avehicle for expression and easier communication often translates to individuals who are more involvedand communities that are more integrated. In addition, extended digital inclusion can mean a moreflexible workforce, lower paper consumption, and reduced travel to work, all of which have the potentialto foster happier workforces and a better natural environment.

ee also

* social model of disability
* Inclusion
* Ambient Assisted Living

External links

* EU level activities: [http://europa.eu.int/information_society/soccul/eincl/ Participation for all in the Knowledge-based Society] ; [http://europa.eu.int/information_society/policy/accessibility/ e-Accessibility] ;
* [http://www.cordis.lu/ist/so/einclusion/home.html EC Research] ; [http://www.einclusion-eu.org/ exploratory action] ;
* EU - Belgium: [http://www.e-inclusion.net 2004 conference (in French & Dutch] ; [http://www.awt.be/web/dem/index.aspx?page=dem,fr,foc,100,020 Wallonia agency (in French)]
* World - Canada: [http://e-inclusion.crim.ca/ E-Inclusion Research Network] ; [http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-86079-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html IDRC projects]
* World - Australia: [http://www.dcita.gov.au/ie/community_connectivity/social_impacts_of_ict/digital_inclusion Government/ICT]
* Industry: [http://www.citizensonline.org.uk/adi ADI alliance] ; [http://www.hp.com/e-inclusion/en/index.html HP]

References