Category: Digital Inclusion

Spring Online: A Great Opportunity to bridge the Digital Divide!

Social housing providers are being urged to engage in “one of the nation’s biggest digital inclusion campaigns”. The Government-backed Spring Online with Silver Surfers’ Day – delivered by Digital Unite in partnership with UK Online Centres and Race Online 2012 – is one of the biggest campaigns each year to give older people and less confident users a taste of computers and the internet. The campaign – which has been going for 11 years – has helped more than 150,000 …
Categories: Digital Inclusion, Digital Literacy, Europe | Leave a comment

Public Policy Framework Helps Provide Direction for Libraries Regarding Digital Inclusion

The Institute of Museum and Library Services, the University of Washington Information School, and the International City/County Management Association have developed a comprehensive framework to help libraries identify, evaluate, and improve services regarding digital inclusion and digital literacy.  More and more individuals without computer access at home are turning to libraries as a conduit to access the Internet. The document, “Building Digitally Inclusive Communities,” is the product of over 100 organizations’ comments and ideas.  The document highlights five important principles: …
Categories: Digital Inclusion, Foundations/Thinktanks, Government Initiatives, NGO/Nonprofit, Whitepapers | Leave a comment

The UK’s Digital Inclusion Network

The United Kingdom shares a similar demographic distribution to the United States in regards to Senior Citizens and digital inclusion.  One way a group of NGOs are trying to bridge the digital divide is through their program called the Digital Inclusion Network.  This group, founded in 2006, consists of more than 200 member organizations that provides computer and Internet training to Senior Citizens.  Member NGOs sign an MOU and participate in this network by sharing best practices and local information …
Categories: Digital Inclusion, Digital Literacy, Disabilities, Europe, NGO/Nonprofit, Social Inclusion | Leave a comment

NGO WebOrganic Benefits from new Google Datacenter in Hong Kong

Google will inject US$300 million as a long-term investment in its Hong Kong datacenter that will go live in early 2013, said the company after the ground breaking ceremony in Tsueng Kwan O Industrial Estate last week. The company said it will also launch a community program in Hong Kong to provide annual grants ranging from US$5000 to US$50,000 to organizations that focus on the issues such as technology literacy and innovation, renewable energy innovation, and new economy entrepreneurship. To get …
Categories: Asia, Digital Inclusion, Digital Literacy, Digital Literacy | Leave a comment

Broadband in Brazil: A Multipronged Public Sector Approach to Digital Inclusion

With 35 million fixed and mobile broadband subscribers, Brazil ranks among the top ten countries worldwide by total number of broadband users. Its large population, however, places the country’s broadband penetration outside the top-50 worldwide. This report explores the challenges, opportunities and successes that define Brazil’s Information and Communication Technology experience. Regionally, Brazil is slightly above the Latin American average in terms of penetration, but behind Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay. Speed of access follows a similar pattern – Brazil is …
Categories: Broadband, Broadband Adoption, Digital Inclusion, Digital Literacy, Government Initiatives, Policy, South America, Whitepapers | Leave a comment

CodeNow Teaches Students How to Code

CodeNow (a non-profit organization) focuses on developing the next pioneers in technology by teaching underserved youth foundational skills in computer science and programming with the objective of narrowing the current digital divide. The organization teaches high school students the basics of computer programming and computer science in free, extra-curricular, off-campus trainings and boot camps. Each student who completes their program receives a netbook, mentoring and assistance finding internships. Working with numerous partners, the organization successfully launched its pilot program in DC …
Categories: Digital Inclusion, Digital Literacy, Education, NGO/Nonprofit, North America, Urban, Workforce Development | Leave a comment

Public-Private Partnerships to Bridge Africa’s Digital Divide

Innovative partnerships involving governments, software giants and telcoms will accelerate connectivity and bridge Africa’s gaping digital divide. Experts who met at a just concluded third edition of the Africa Public-Private Partnership Conference in Nairobi hailed the potential of structured collaboration between the public and private sectors to transform Africa into an ICT hub. Zaki Khoury, the Regional Manager, Global Strategic Accounts, Middle East, North, West, and Central Africa as well as Pakistan and Turkey at Microsoft, underscored the potential of …
Categories: Africa, Corporate Initiatives, Digital Inclusion, Digital Literacy, Education, Government Initiatives | Leave a comment

JobScout Teaches Job Skills Using Online Game

JobScout is like many of the start-ups launching on a daily basis in Silicon Valley, except for the fact that many of its users do not even know how to use the Internet yet. A project that has been supported and seed funded by the California State Library, JobScout is a platform that provides an interactive online environment that uses game design to teach job-hunting skills and the digital literacy basics that are necessary for finding employment. Users will be able …
Categories: Digital Inclusion, Digital Literacy, Education, NGO/Nonprofit, North America, Workforce Development | Leave a comment

Grandchildren and Grandparents Team up to Increase Digital Literacy in Serbia

In Belgrade, Serbia, there was an unusual event which took place for grandparents and their grandchildren. The event was organized by local NGO IAN (International Aid Network).  Teams were formed, and consisted of a grandparent who was older than 55, together with their grandchild who was younger than 13. Teams who had previously passed the qualifications had the task to efficiently and as accurately as possible provide numerous / various answers to interesting questions in an online quiz whilst using …
Categories: Digital Inclusion, Digital Literacy, Editor's Choice, Education, Europe, NGO/Nonprofit | Leave a comment