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Tackling digital disparities in the EU – Perspectives after Covid: towards a more digitally sustainable, inclusive and equal Europe
22nd June 2021 | 6:00 PM CEST
Is digitalisation the path to a fair and just future or is it a trigger for disparities?
As the European Commission wants to strengthen its digital sovereignty, the students of the Executive Master on European Public Affairs and Communication from IHECS Academy, have taken the initiative to hold an event on 22nd June 2021 at 6pm CEST on this topic.
This hybrid event aims to bring together different actors from this field and will be the opportunity to collect a set of concrete recommendations that could inspire change and action for policy makers and industry who will take into consideration the inequalities of digitalisation and will then be sent to the Conference on Europe.
The digital gap concerns everyone
Pedro Siza Vieira, Minister for the Economy and Digital Transition of Portugal, said: “The Portuguese Presidency of the Council aims to play a decisive role as an accelerator of the digital transition. We believe that the commitments made today by Member States will help Europe to position itself as a global digital leader, as defined in the Digital Decade Strategy.”
However, Europe is still far away from being able to connect its regions and provide equal access to the digital market to everyone. Indeed, according to recent studies, 42% of Europeans lack basic digital skills and during the Covid-19 crisis, up to 32% of students were without access to education for several months in some Member states.
If we, citizens, do not react, the digital gap will continue to create divides in the population in terms of education discrimination, communication, social inclusion, access to public services and infrastructures… Moreover, digitalisation is creating a list of potential risks which goes from cyber harassment, to disinformation and discrimination, inter alia.
Background
Digitalisation is one of the priorities included in European Commission President Von der Leyen’s programme and, in the post-COVID-19 environment, the EU aims to protect and reinforce its digital sovereignty and leadership in strategic international digital value chains as key elements to ensure strategic autonomy in the digital area.
Be part of the discussion!
The format of the event will be highly engaging and participants will have the chance to actively interact amongst them and with the speakers, point out problems, concerns and make proposals.
Help us to define the event! Follow us on IHECS Academy social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin) and tell us which aspect of digital disparities is more interesting to you and which questions you would like to ask to our speakers.
We look forward to receiving your comments!
Together we can make tomorrow more digitally sustainable, inclusive and equal. Share your story!