The Policies of Digital Inclusion in the UK Digital Britain Final Report - Term Paper Example

E-government and Social Inclusion UK Digital Britain Final Report (2009) has finally succeeded in bringing the marginalized sections of the society to the forefront of digital governance. People stand to be the quintessential focus of this report. This report tends to present the government’s vision as to the steps to be taken to assure that Britain plays a crucial role in the global digital economy. In the contemporary world economy, essentially dependent on ICT knowhow, digital skills stand to be the eventual determiners of an equitable distribution of resources and social inclusion. Digital skills are the fundamental and basic ICT skills that enable a user to access and communicate relevant information. Digital Britain Report recognizes the fact that Digital Life Skills are central to the sustainability of the UK economy in general and of the marginalized sections of the society in particular (2009). Digital Life Skills are the cardinal participative tools that will eventually determine the success of all the government policies targeted at the upliftment of the socially and digitally excluded segments of the masses. Digital Life Skills stand to be the credentials that enable the citizens to have an equitable access to public services and economic opportunities in the sphere of social inclusion, employment and education. The report establishes beyond doubt that though the proportion of the people lacking in basic ICT skills has gradually dwindled over time, still a considerable chunk of the British population stands to be digitally excluded (2009). This lacuna deprives them of having an effective access to state portals of service and aid, thereby aggravating their sidelined plight in the attribution of opportunities and benefits. Therefore, the report calls for a sincere and concerted effort towards the enablement of digitally excluded segments of the society that are either unable to or do not know how to go online (2009). The report envisages the extermination of barriers that curtail the opportunities for the weaker sections of the society. It unequivocally conveys that the opportunities for the weaker sections of the society can be augmented and increased by the democratization of the ICT skills. This will enable the people to improve the quality of their life, better their employment prospects and uplift their communities. The digital infrastructure and literacy ought to be ubiquitous and universally accessible. This calls for the envisaging of steps that assure the incorporation of the marginalized groups within the ambit of digital literacy and e-government. The report proposes the establishment of such ICT based services that are dedicated to the task of identifying and tackling exclusion challenges (2009). One of the crucial proposals of the report is to guarantee an inclusive healthcare system through the broad based dissemination of Digital Life Skills. The report recognizes the fact that there exists a discernable and direct link between poor health and digital literacy or exclusion. In the current digitized healthcare system, the marginalized groups like the aged, disabled, low income households do end up becoming the objects of neglect or apathy owing to lack of access to internet based services and aid. Thus, creating switched on communities will conclusively enable the marginalized groups to have an unhampered access to NHS. This will not only ameliorate the overall quality of their life, but will enable them to play a meaningful role in their communities and society. The report also recommends the chalking out of measures pertaining to the national digital grid that will enable the disabled people to identify and exploit their potential (20090. It necessitates a customized approach towards E-governance and the allocation of internet based services. The report unambiguously claims that the needs of physically challenged people in the UK can be met by adapting the computer hardware, software and connectivity to their requirements. It supports the allocation of resources dedicated to the invention and provision of the requisite technologies and components that can be used by the disabled in Britain as a substitute for regular accessories and components like keyboard and mouse. There is no denying the fact that the marginalized sections of the society do often fail to play an effective and meaningful role in the national economy. This is owing to a lack of access to he online markets and economic portals. Report supports the inclusion of the people at the lowest rung of the economic setup into the area of digital investment and speculation. Digital exclusion tends to have most debilitating impact on the people that are unable to access the internet based information sources owing to physical disability, age, illiteracy or poverty. UK Digital Britain Final Report (2009) favors the dilution of the social isolation of these people through the relevant and appropriate digital technologies. In that context, it will be interesting to compare the provisions of the UK Digital Britain Final Report (2009) with a commensurate Singaporean policy. Historically speaking, the Singapore government started accommodating the goals like digital inclusion and social inclusion into most of its successive plans over the years. Almost all these plans like National Computerization Plan (1981-1985), National Information Technology Plan (1986-1989), ‘A vision of an Intelligent Island’ (2001) and ‘Connected Singapore (2003)’ incorporated within their ambit the goals of digital inclusion and social inclusion (Munoo & Narayanan 2005). However, ‘Singapore’s InfocommTechnology Roadmap’ released in 2005 deserves a special mention in this context. This plan envisages the establishment and planning of e-services around the needs and requirements of the citizens. In this vision, special place has been allocated to the marginalized sections of the society. The plan proposed to make the government services accessible to a majority segment of the island’s population by resorting to democratic ethos in the national digital planning. The government in Singapore was well aware of the fact that in the dearth of any significant natural resources, its 4 million citizens stood to be the most viable and potent national asset. As compared to Britain, Singapore got cognizant of the digital divide within the country much earlier when the findings of the 2000 Infocomm Literacy Survey indicated a gross digital divide existing between the white-collared and blue-collared workers (Munoo & Narayanan 2005). This encouraged the Singapore government to take steps for the creation of an e-citizenry that was all-inclusive and broad based in its scope. The 2000 Census in the island nation revealed that by the year 2030, more then 19 percent of the population would tend to be above 65 years of age (Munoo& Narayanan 2005). This not only indicated a future strain on the healthcare system, but also professed a need for continually up gradation of the digital skills of the fast aging citizens, to enable them to retain their relevance in the job market. In addition, the political setup of Singapore was quick to realize that people who tend to remain digitally unskilled owing to age, disability, or poverty will be marginalized in an economy fast metamorphosing into a knowledge-based society. Therefore, Singapore started focusing on the objectives of digital inclusion to enable an effective and equitable access to all its citizens much before the UK. The guidelines initiated by ‘Singapore Infocomm Technology Roadmap 2005’ further testified to the commitment of the state to the objectives of social inclusion of the underprivileged and marginalized sections of the society into the ambit of e-governance. It proposed a further proliferation of digital technology and dedicated measures to bridge the digital divide. Unlike the UK, the moorings of e-government in Singapore tend to be in consonance with Anttiroiko’s E-government development policy framework (2005). It evolved to achieve higher levels of e-maturity by systematically transforming from mere interactive and transactional phases of e-governance to a society having a democratized access to digital skills at all the levels, be it administrative, political, technological or social (Anttiroiko 2005). Total Words: 1,275 (5 pages and 35 words) References Anttiroiko V (2005). Towards Ubiquitous Government: The Case of Finland. E-Service Journal, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp.65-99. Digital Britain Final Report (2009). Department for Culture, Media and Sport & Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Munno, Rajan & Narayanan, Rakunathan (2005). The challenge of creating a socially inclusive e-citizenry. World Library and Information Congress: 71th IFLAGeneral Conference and Council. Retrieved November 29, 2009 from: http://ifla.queenslibrary.org/IV/ifla71/papers/105e-Munoo_ Narayanan.pdf Read More