Ageing Population at Risk of Not Participating In the Information Society — Missing Information Technology Skills Impact Quality of Life; Lack of Computer Use a Barrier to Inclusive Society

A Survey on the Issue of e-Inclusion

According to the results of the ECDL Foundation’s survey on the issue of e-Inclusion, 72% of respondents are of the opinion that the ageing population is at risk of being excluded from society, while 68% of respondents believe that there is a strong correlation between the level of education and the level of participation in the information society.
In May 2007 the ECDL Foundation carried out a survey on the issue of e-Inclusion among its Licensees. Respondents, representing computer professionals from more than thirty countries, contributed their views on the issue of e-Inclusion.”

This post is an extraction of sections from our ECDL Foundation’s broader article on the e-inclusion survey.

Summary of the survey results

“1. The survey strongly indicates that the elderly and people with low education levels are most at risk of being left behind in the development of the information society.2. The majority of survey respondents agree that public-private partnerships have the potential to successfully implement a strategy to confront the e-Inclusion challenge.3. Interestingly, the survey also highlights the fact that many people fail to understand the direct positive impact that information and communication technologies (ICT) can have on their quality of every day life. Public campaigns are therefore necessary to raise the awareness of the benefits that can be gained from the use of ICT.4. Finally, the survey also shows that while broadband coverage remains an issue in remote geographical areas, the lack of necessary e-skills remains an important barrier to an inclusive society.”

The European Union, for one, appears to be working hard to mitigate these issues. Yesterday there was a major conference held in Brussels to address the question of Delivering e-Inclusion- the role of digital literacy. Our ECDL Foundation is working along with many organizations in such efforts. We hope to be able to report some of its outcomes in the coming days.

In Canada, ICDL Canada is happy to participate with NGOs, Federal, provincial and municipal governments and relevant national and regional organizations to ensure that projects which empower Canadians to reach their full potential through ICT skills development are successful.