Programme - ICT for an Inclusive Society -
Riga 11-13 June 2006

What good is the information society if you aren’t part of it? Getting access to services designed to meet your needs, using your choice of technology best suited to your personal circumstances is a right for everyone in the Information Society. This session considers some of the more significant recent developments in this field.

ICT can help older people to continue to live and work in their preferred environment, giving a better quality of life and greater social inclusion. This includes elderly with disabilities and/or with health problems.  This session considers the needs and desires of older people, the opportunities the technology can bring, and some of the barriers to be overcome.

The field of 'e-Inclusion' will continue to change significantly as new opportunities emerge, triggered by technological advances, and will face new challenges to keep the technology usable for all.  Where is technology heading?  What are the recent technological developments that could help the 'e-Inclusion' agenda?  Will technology be affordable and accessible to all?  This session will give you an insight into some of the answers.

Developing the necessary skills, knowledge and attitude to effectively participate in today’s information society remains a challenge for many.  Using ICT for life-long learning facilitates this task, providing disadvantaged groups with the opportunity to acquire competencies and capabilities to improve employability, personal fulfilment and social interaction.  This session considers how socially excluded individuals and groups enhance their quality of life and employability by using life-long learning and ICT.

The development of the information society not only increases the social and economic cohesion but also the competitiveness of European less developed regions.  Strategic use of ICT can assist the reorientation and diversification of economic activity and the opening up of new opportunities for local products and services in European and international markets.  Securing long term sustainability of these regions requires a strategic approach towards affordable infrastructure, in order to provide government services, health, education, training and skills to help prevent depopulation and “delocation” of businesses.  The focus of this session will be on the strategic use of ICT to improve the attractiveness of less developed regions.

The proof of success for 'e-Inclusion' is the delivery of real benefits for users and a thriving ICT and services industry.  'e-Inclusion' faces major challenges in moving from ideas to such a successful reality, including affordability, connecting to mass-markets, and overcoming hesitations in financing.  Good practice examples of successful 'e-Inclusion' can help to bridge the gap between research, policy and large-scale take-up by showcasing technology and services, demonstrating how to overcome obstacles to market implementation and exploring new financing models and innovation-support schemes.  This session will explore the necessary steps to be taken and how to share best practices in 'e-Inclusion'.

Although disadvantaged and socially excluded people are often the biggest users of public services, access, service design, personal capacity and awareness can present barriers when those services are delivered electronically.  Nevertheless, examples are emerging where innovative use of ICT by public administrations is providing a key part of the solution to social exclusion, rather than increasing the problem. This session highlights the key role public authorities can play and shows how public services can be designed to ensure 'no-one is left behind'.

The richness of Europe's cultural diversity is one of its many strengths.  Yet this very diversity can mean individuals and communities of people are confronted with barriers in the use of ICT.  By focusing on two of these groups, migrants and minorities (ethnic or cultural), this session will consider how to ensure that these groups are not overlooked, and how ICT can help contribute to greater social inclusion and generate new opportunities for these groups. 

Today, good practice in policy-making demands taking decisions informed by sound evidence and analysis, with the consultation and involvement of stakeholders.  Gathering and analysing data is essential for assessing and understanding the impact of ICT on inclusion.  This session considers what evidence we have today and where we should be moving towards.

In developing countries, 'e-Inclusion' is about the need to mobilise technologies to fight poverty, disease and exclusion and support basic services such as health and education.  Early steps in exploiting ICTs to enable such services include providing access, by putting the necessary infrastructure in place, including basic electronic communication services.  In countries where the information society is well established, “e-Inclusion” means all citizens having access to services, and benefiting from ICTs.   The 'e-Inclusion' agenda is addressing issues such as ensuring services and products are designed to be accessible to as many people as possible, facilitating accessibility and empowering people.

How can we learn from very different exploitations of ICTs to foster inclusion?  This session reflects on the twofold approach and brings together political vision and practical experiences.