Does the knowledge society include people?
Written by Mark Magennis Wednesday, 29 September 2010
On Monday I attended the conference on Delivering the Digital Agenda in Ireland and Europe.
It was all about Ireland's and Europe's plans for growing the European digital economy and combating the digital divide. In short, about creating an effective knowledge society that works for all of us.
However, the concept of the knowledge society (or information society as it used to be called) seems lately to have been diluted down or repackaged as the digital economy. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the current economic crisis, all the talk concerning digital technologies is about using them for growth, economic performance and jobs. These things are very important of course, but if we think they're are all that matters we're in danger of missing something or damaging something. That something is society and the ability to participate in it. All the things, other than jobs, that this entails for the 4.2 million men, women and children of Ireland.
The Knowledge Society – we're all in it
The knowledge society is inevitable. In fact it's already here. Just look around you at all the digital technologies that you routinely use today – at work, at home, in education, while travelling, shopping, banking, socialising and accessing information. The computers, mobile phones, the internet, online social networks, televisions, office equipment, chip & PIN machines, railway ticket machines, etc. These are the technologies you and your children need to be able to use in order to participate in the 'knowledge society'. And if you're not participating in the knowledge society, you're no longer fully participating in society. The knowledge society is a social entity which almost everyone is now involved in. We’re all busy communicating, creating and consuming digital content. These activities are mediated by digital technologies, so digital inclusion (or e-inclusion, whatever you want to call it) is essential. Not only essential for the individual who wants to participate, but essential for the economy and for society at large.
The costs of exclusion
Last year, CFIT published some original data-driven research showing the costs of non-participation. For the individual, this means lower wages, reduced job and educational opportunities, increased costs of goods and services and increased time spent on accessing public services. For the economy, digital exclusion means decreased economic activity and increased costs of doing business for both government and private companies.
To avoid these penalties and reap the benefits of the digital age, we need a knowledge society strategy. One that has full participation through digital inclusion as one of its central pillars. One that works to ensure full digital availability, full digital literacy and full digital accessibility.
Ever since the publication of the Government's Information Society policy document New Connections (PDF, 733Kb) in 2002, efforts have been made by successive governments to deliver this strategy, but nothing has yet emerged. A new strategy, with e-inclusion at its core, was expected in 2008, but what finally came out in 2009 was the "Technology Actions to Support the Smart Economy" report which was all about the digital economy, with minor references to e-inclusion at the end.
Similarly, yesterday's Delivering the Digital Agenda conference focussed mainly on how to make Europe and Ireland digitally competitive. Tellingly, half the audience were gone by the start of the final session on 'Combating the Digital Divide'. That was a shame because there were some very informative and very well delivered presentations in there concerning the use of digital technologies in schools, in local government and in the HSE. But even in these, we heard little about digital inclusion. The exception was an impassioned presentation from Deirdre Garvey, CEO of The Wheel who raised this very issue of where has society and social inclusion disappeared to within discussions and policy on the knowledge society. She pointed to some tremendous digital literacy training work that has been done by voluntary agencies funded by the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources under the BenefIT scheme and its predecessors. But where's the rest? Where's digital accessibility for example?
Deirdre Garvey admitted, with clear dismay, to having been for the last five years a member of a Government working group on knowledge society and e-inclusion that has never met! See the video of Deirdre's presentation.
Meanwhile, e-inclusion and e-accessibility targets are being repeatedly set but not delivered. In 2006, in the Riga Ministerial Declaration on e-Inclusion, 34 European countries, including Ireland, committed to reducing the digital divide by 2010. Targets included halving the gaps in Internet use and digital literacy and achieving 100% accessibility of public websites by 2010. We're still a long way short of this, a situation that could easily have been predicted from the fact that as far back as 2001, the eEurope Action Plan had set this same public web accessibility target, to be met by the end of 2001! By 2006, according to the 'Measuring Progress of eAccessibility in Europe' study, public web accessibility across Europe had reached only 5%. Anecdotal evidence suggests that there has been some improvement since then, but it has been limited. Something obviously isn't working.
It's time to put society back into the knowledge society discussions and put digital inclusion at the centre of the agenda. Without this, Ireland risks becoming more highly fragmented with regard to participation, with an increasing digital divide between those who have access and those who do not. This must not be allowed to happen. Not for the sake of the excluded people, nor for society at large.
So what can we do about it?
We could start by raising greater awareness and discussion of these issues among policy makers, digital society thought leaders and the general public. One way of doing this would be to use a range of online media to promote actions to support digital inclusion. This might include a website of breaking news, commentary, discussion and calls for action, similar to what Digital 21 is doing on the smart economy. A facebook campaign could be used to reach the public, spread awareness and get people involved in suggesting and carrying out activities to increase inclusion. Use of twitter would help create a buzz and maintain constant awareness. An regular electronic newsletter would highlight issues and activities to policy makers with an interest. These are just some possible ways of spreading awareness and encouraging action.
We in CFIT are interested in getting something like this going. If you're interested too, get in touch and tell us your ideas and how you can contribute!
Information Society album cover image used with the kind permission of the band Information Society.
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Adam @ financial help