Category: Government Initiatives
Australia’s Digital Hubs Directory
Australia has been a leader in broadband adoption by creating the Department of Broadband, Communications, and the Digital Economy. This government ministry is providing $13.6m USD available in grants to communities to increase broadband adoption and digital inclusion programs. A component of Australia’s National Broadband Network (NBN), the Digital Hubs Program is an initiative tied to these grants to aid local communities to improve their digital literacy skills and increase their broadband adoption. The Digital Hubs Directory was created to …
Categories: Australia, Broadband, Broadband Adoption, Government Initiatives, Policy, Uncategorized 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: …
The Broadband Commission’s Online Sharehouse
In response to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s directive to encourage the UN to meet the millennium Development Goals, The International Telecommunication Union and UNESCO set up the Broadband Commission for Digital Development. The Commission’s mission is to advocate for the inclusion of broadband on the international policy agendas and is working to increase broadband access internationally. One tool that the Broadband Commission has developed is a user-driven database of best practices ranging from case studies to policy recommendations. This database, …
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 …
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 …
Plan to get Every Australian Using Broadband by 2020 Released
A digital action plan to get every Australian using high-speed broadband by 2020 which involves the co-operation of the not-for-profit, private and government sectors has been proposed in a new report released by Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider. The report, entitled A fair go for all in the digital era: Towards a Digital Inclusion Roadmap, pointed out that to get all Australians involved in the National Broadband Network (NBN), community centres with high-speed broadband are needed …
European Network and Information Security Agency Publishes 18 Protective Recommendations Against Key Risks for Cyber Bullying & Online Grooming
The EU Agency ENISA, the (European Network and Information Security Agency) has launched a new report on cyber bullying and online grooming (preparing sexual abuse); warning that misuse of data (data mining and profiling) harms minors. The report identifies the top emerging risks and makes 18 non-technical recommendations for their mitigation. One key recommendation is to strengthen Member State’s law enforcement agencies. Other recommendations point to safeguards adapted to the needs of youth’s cyber activities. Digital devices and the internet …
Categories: Digital Literacy, Europe, Government Initiatives, Internet Safety, Policy, Privacy, Whitepapers Leave a comment
Freedom Rings Partnership will bring Internet access, training, and technology to low-income residents of Philadelphia
The Freedom Rings Partnership is a $25 million federally-funded initiative led by the Urban Affairs Coalition and the City of Philadelphia, with Drexel University as a major partner. The Freedom Rings Partnership is made up of grassroots organizations, government, and universities that will bring Internet access, training and technology to residents in low-income communities. This multi-year initiative officially kicked off on January 17, 2011 by sponsoring the signature project of the MLK Day of Service – refurbishing used computers to be distributed back into …
Visually Challenged Teachers In Kerala Get ICT Training
In Kerala, India, the government-sponsored IT@School Project reached out to provide all of its 238 visually challenged teachers with ICT (Information and Communications Technology) training. They did this through a five-day training program and used Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) based screen reading software called ORCA. In a release, K. Anvar Sadath, Executive Director, IT@School Project said, “Integrating ICT in education is our mission and in order to implement a complete ICT enabled educational system in the State, it …