The web - not open to all
Authorities and political parties are currently busy creating strategies to reach out via social media. In the eagerness to be seen online, the nearly two million Swedes who are not there are forgotten, writes Danny Aerts, .SE, Anne-Marie Fransson, Director of IT&Telekomföretagen and Ove Ivarsen, UsersAward in SvD.se
One in five Swedes over the age of 16 do not use the internet today, according to the report Svenskarna och Internet 2009. In other words, 1.7 million Swedes are completely excluded from the internet, often due to a lack of digital skills. Is this reasonable in a country that is usually referred to as one of the leading IT nations in the world? The government has announced a strategy to expand broadband so that 90% of households have 100 Mbit/s by 2020.
But there is no strategy to ensure that everyone can actually use the internet. This is a matter of democracy. High speed does not help those who do not know how to use the internet.
Society loses from a lack of internet literacy. New technologies are constantly being integrated into all professions, and when people are not technologically literate, society loses competitiveness. A UK report (Champion for Digital Inclusion - The Economic Case for Digital Inclusion, October 2009) estimates the societal benefits of getting all UK citizens online at £22 billion. A simple conversion based on Sweden's population gives a gain of SEK 36 billion.
Being offline is above all a problem for the individual. Computer literacy is increasingly a requirement in many contexts. Those without online skills have less chance of getting a job. In the private sector, people are affected by banks' eagerness to get customers to use online banking. More and more companies and public authorities refer to their websites for important information.
Not only the elderly, but also low-income and low-education groups are not using the internet, which is particularly worrying.
The absence of the internet reinforces an already existing exclusion. These people cannot be left behind as the internet enters more and more aspects of everyday life.
Led by the Government's e-Delegation, Swedish public authorities are increasingly using online services to interact with citizens. The strategy states that "eGovernment helps to develop the relationship between the authorities and the surrounding society in a positive way. In such a development, citizens and entrepreneurs are seen not only as taxpayers or customers but as competent citizens". However, this work seems to be going on without considering that all citizens should be competent to use government e-services.
We have a democratic duty to ensure that people who are not online have the knowledge they need to use the internet, and thus have the same opportunities to access information and use services and tools that today's internet users already have.
Along with other EU Member States, Sweden committed in the 2006 Riga Agreement to work actively to reduce the digital divide in society. So far, too little has been done. There is a remarkable lack of concrete action from politicians charged with increasing digital inclusion
A political initiative is needed for a broad effort to increase digital inclusion. Unfortunately, there is no comprehensive approach to the issue. You only have to look at the party programs and listen to the parliamentary debate to realize that this is currently a non-issue. Most parties do not mention digital inclusion at all in their party programs. Coordinated and long-term efforts are needed in several policy areas, otherwise isolated efforts will fall flat.
The lack of knowledge is something that can be addressed. Some examples:
- .SE launched the Internet for All project in 2009 to gain small-scale experience in this area and serve as a source of inspiration.
- The Östergötland library organizes Internet guidance for people who are not used to the Internet.
- Together with Kista Folk High School, new Swedes in Kista are trained in Internet skills.
- Stockholm Hotel Home trains homeless people.
- Seniornet and the Assistive Technology Institute are running pilot projects.
These efforts are based on initiatives by various actors without overall responsibility. However, there is a lack of overall political vision and political initiatives. Authorities and parties are currently busy creating strategies to reach out via social media. In their eagerness to be seen online, they are forgetting the nearly two million Swedes who are not there. We are calling for a debate on digital participation so that coordinated and long-term efforts can become a reality and so that all Swedes have the same civic opportunities.
Danny Aerts
CEO .SE (Internet Infrastructure Foundation)
Anne-Marie Fransson
Director of IT & Telecom within Almega
Ove Ivarsen
UsersAward (formed on the initiative of LO and TCO in 1998. Since 2003 UsersAward is an independent organization, owned by LO, and with research and development support from VINNOVA)