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Digital inclusion

The digitalisation of society is a vehicle for opportunities and simplification for citizens. However, this digitalisation also leads to inequalities within the population.

According to the Digital Inclusion Barometer (2020) (External linkFR/External linkNL), there are three specific types of inequalities related to digital:

  • inequalities in access to digital technologies (or the "first-level digital divide"), concerning disparities in technological equipment and access to an Internet connection. 
  • inequalities in the use of digital technologies (or "second-level digital divide"), concerning disparities in the skills needed to master these technologies as well as for their effective use (nature and intensity).
  • inequalities related to the social implications of these differences in access and use (or "third-level digital divide"), concerning the capacities to convert the opportunities offered by digital technologies into effective benefits for integrating different areas of social life such as education, employment, administrative and civic life. "Non-utilisation of rights" may be an effect of this kind of disparity.

According to a study carried out by a team of UCL researchers in 2017 (External linkFR/External linkNL), several variables must be taken into consideration when describing the digital divide in the Brussels Region: gender, income level, ethnic origin, disability, location, housing, age, level of education, possible early school-leaving, etc. The digital divide affects many sections of the population and the digitally excluded are therefore not a homogeneous social category.To make the Brussels Region a Smart City that increases the well-being of its citizens (privately, professionally and in their interactions with the administrations) and boosts economic dynamism, it is essential to increase accessibility and the basic digital skills of its citizens in a comprehensive and ongoing way.  To make the Brussels Region a Smart City that increases the well-being of its citizens (privately, professionally and in their interactions with the administrations) and boosts economic dynamism, it is essential to increase accessibility and the basic digital skills of its citizens in a comprehensive and ongoing way. 

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