Approved by
LAST REVIEWED 20 July 2023
Digital Inclusion Workshop III: Are Digital Skills key to better health?
In this workshop we will hear from experts in Digital Inequalities and Digital Skills, but also from those delivering Digital Inclusion Programmes.
If the challenge of Digital Poverty were simply a matter of money, it might be relatively easy to solve, if at the expense of the taxpayer. But simply giving an individual a device, and a connection to the Internet is only a beginning, and without helping them to develop Digital Skills, harms may occur, and inequalities could actually increase.
But if we are to connect vulnerable groups to the online world, what might we need to consider, to ensure they are not disadvantaged by data collection, algorithms, online risks, and the distress of not being able to access or navigate the opportunities?
If Digital Skills are key to Digital Inclusion, and to reducing Digital Inequalities, how can we define and measure them, and establish what skills it would be helpful for someone to develop?
Perhaps then, the challenge is to identify what is needed to equip a vulnerable person, or, say, someone with long term health needs, with the Digital Skills that enables to make use of online opportunities.
