Transcript The Digital Divide And The World Summit on The

Information Society Policy, Media Literacy
and Public Sphere
Taghrid Baba, Erwin Spil, Wanda Mlodzick
The Digital Divide And The World Summit on
The Information Society
Internet Connections
Around The World
Connections Between
Countries
Digital Divide
• Internet a right? A basic social necessity of the 20th
century.
• 5 billion people with no access to internet (Molinari
2011)
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“The most common references to the digital divide
have been those which emphasize the varying
gaps in access between social groups defined by
race, gender and ethnicity” (Lievrouw & Livingstone
2002).
The World Summit on
the Information Society
• Geneva & Tunis
• 1500 people from International Organizations, 6200
from NGOs, 4800 from the private sector, and 980
from the media. (United Nations General Assembly
2006)
• Discussing and bridging the global digital divide
The World Summit on
the Information Society
• The divide is more than access
• “how and by whom and under what
circumstances, and for what purposes ICTs can and
should be used to benefit individuals, communities,
and societies as whole” (Gurstein 2003)
Digital
Divide
• Access is the core,
but this core is
surrounded by
problematic issues
on ICT literacy,
media literacy and
ownership of ICT’s.
How Strong Are the Ties?
USA & Europe Relations Fostering ICT’s
and the Information Society
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creating a digital Single Market
greater interoperability
boosting internet trust and security
much faster internet access
more investment in research and development
enhancing digital literacy skills and inclusion and
applying information and communications
technologies to address challenges facing society
like climate change and the ageing population.
Bilateral Cooperation in
ICT Initiatives
TechAmerica Europe
Profile
• Established in 1990 in Brussels
• managing issues surrounding environment
• regulatory standards
• security policy and the impact of EU policies on transatlantic
trade, investments, jobs, research, education and community
affairs throughout Europe
Mission Statement
“Our mission is to inform our Member Companies of relevant EU
policy and regulatory developments and to represent their
interests at the EU level in the most efficient and effective
manner so as to foster the sustainable growth of the global hightech sector. Where appropriate we will address policy areas
covered by the wider-EMEA region and NATO.”
Scale of Impact
• Employ 500,000 people in Europe- Employees and
members are active throughout the high
technology spectrum:
• software
• semiconductors and computers
• Internet technology
• advanced electronics
• telecommunications systems and services.
http://www.techamerica.org/europe
TechAmerica Europe
€ 100 billion in European Business
http://www.techamerica.org/europe
TechAmerica Europe
Commitment
Attends the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP-17) to the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in
Durban, South Africa
• Acts as official observer of COP process
• Companies engaged in TechAmerica Europe:
1. Intel
2. First Solar
3. 3M
4. RIM
5. Microsoft
The objective is to use the unified voice of the information
communication technology (ICT) and related advanced
electronics industry (“high-tech”) to raise awareness about the
opportunity of using high-tech to address climate change, and
to engage with environmental stakeholders on the role that we
can play.
https://itunews.itu.int/En/1943-Industrycommitment.note.aspx
ICT for Energy Efficiency
ICT for Energy Efficiency Forum (ICT4EE) was formed by
DigitalEurope, GeSI, the Japan Business Council in
Europe and TechAmerica Europe
• International collaboration to reduce greenhouse
emissions with the use of ICTS
Two aims of Forum:
• Improvement of ICT processes
• SHARE information about the optimal ICT processes
that are ideal for environment
https://itunews.itu.int/En/1943-Industrycommitment.note.aspx
Digital Agenda For
Europe- 13 Goals
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The DAE contains 13 specific goals which encapsulate the change we want to achieve:
the entire EU to be covered by broadband by 2013.
the entire EU to be covered by broadband above 30% by 2020
50 % of the EU to subscribe to broadband above100 Mbps by 2020
50 % of the population to buy online by 2015
20 % of the population to buy online cross-border by 2015
33 % of SMEs to make online sales by 20155
the difference between roaming and national tariffs to approach zero by 2015
to increase regular internet usage from 60 % to 75 % by2015, and from 41 % to 60 %
among disadvantaged people.
to halve the proportion of the population that has never used the internet from 30 % to 15
% by 2015
50 % of citizens to use eGovernment by 2015, with more than half returning completed
forms
all key cross-border public services, to be agreed by Member States in 2011, to be
available online by 2015
to double public investment in ICT R&D to € 11 bn by 2020
to reduce energy use of lighting by 20% by 2020
https://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/node/1505 Accessed October 8 2012)
Media Literacy
“The ability to read and write – or traditional literacy
– is no longer sufficient in this day and age. People need a
greater awareness of how to express themselves
effectively, and how to interpret what others are saying,
especially on blogs, via search engines or in advertising.
Everyone (old and young) needs to get to grips with the
new digital world in which we live. For this, continuous
information and education is more important than
regulation.” (Reding,2008)
• Thus:
It’s not just about knowing how to read and write…
it’s about the ability to express yourself with the tools
that nowadays are being used to communicate.
media literacy is considered as a (communicative)
human right by the UNESCO
Why is media literacy so important?
3 reasons
Non-educating people can create a gap
in the community
Biased and Ignorant
Political Views
“I’m going to vote for Mitt
Romney because he is hot. “
Understanding that media not
necessarily has to stand for reality.
Discussion
Media literacy: According to Reding (2008) she states
that “continious information and education is more
important that regulation”. Do you agree, and if you
do or don’t, why?