ACTIVITIES :: ICT for Societal challenges :: Living independently,safely and involved in society

Living independently, safely and involved in society

Elderly living independently and safely at home rather than in hospital or in care centres; people with disabilities easily interacting with their environment; youngsters at risk of marginalisation helped by video games to be re-integrated into society: these are just some examples of the benefits Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can bring to people. Despite the progress achieved so far in developing ICT potential, there are still lots of challenges ahead: for instance, as of today, 150 million (around 30%) Europeans have never used the Internet (most of them falling in the so-called disadvantaged groups: aged 65-74; on low income; the unemployed, the less educated; the disabled); in 2009, 60% of Europeans made regular use of internet, while the average for disadvantaged people was 41%. Furthermore, in 2009, 64% of Europeans had at least some level of digital skills, but only 45% of people in disadvantaged groups did so.

The Digital Agenda for Europe sets specific targets to be achieved by 2015: halving the proportion of population that has never used the internet (to 15%); increasing regular internet use from 60% to 75% in the general population and from 41% to 60% for disadvantaged people. In order to tackle these issues, the European Commission has been developing and supporting ICT-based solutions for the users’ benefit, starting from their needs and current situation.