Towards an Inclusive Information Society in Europe: The Role of Voluntary Organisations

Executive Summary

This report is the outcome of a study on how voluntary organisations can encourage a more inclusive information society in Europe.

Voluntary organisations across Europe contribute to employment creation, provide a wide range of information and services, and encourage disadvantaged groups to be more active members of society and the economy. Voluntary organisations can also foster a more inclusive information society. The study explores this potential role and suggests ways to support and develop it through future policy and research .

The study begins by defining its terms. “ Voluntary organisations ” a reorganisations in the social economy that: have some degree of formal or institutional existence, are non-profit-distributing, are independent of government and other public authorities, are managed in a disinterested manner, and are active in the public arena, contributing to some degree to the public good.

The "information society" refers to a society in which information and communication technologies (ICTs), in particular the Internet, play a central role in the lives of its citizens.  The primary means of accessing the Internet is a computer. Access through other means (mobile phone, television, games console) is marginal in Europe. The central concern of the study was therefore Internet access via computers and use of computers.

The term, “inclusive information society, ” is difficult to define, in large part because little qualitative research has been conducted on this topic. The most recent quantitative research in Europe indicates that those with the lowest rates of use of the Internet are predominately:

• people with few formal qualifications;
• the unemployed;
• unskilled workers in insecure employment who do not have access to computers at work, especially older people, and women, who make up a disproportionately large element of the unskilled, low-paid workforce;
• people living in households with low incomes; people with disabilities;
• those living in rural and particularly isolated areas;
• ethnic minorities;
• and people experiencing disadvantage for a range of other reasons.

The current study considers people from these groups to be at risk of or experiencing exclusion from the information society.  An inclusive information society is a stated policy priority for governments across Europe. The EU's eEurope policy initiative and IST (Information Society Technologies) research programme both emphasise that low levels of participation and inclusion in the information society increase social marginalisation by disadvantaged groups, reduce the potential for economic growth, limit innovation opportunities, and weaken social cohesion in certain parts of Europe. In addition, the digital divide will undermine the efforts of governments across Europe to provide Web-based access to public information and services.  

For information society policy-makers, a crucial question is the extent to which not using the Internet is linked to an individual's concern with costs or informed personal choice, rather than being rooted in the wider issues of social disadvantage.

Innovative policies and strategies may be necessary to bring the tens of millions of European citizens without the knowledge, skills or confidence to use the Internet to a point where they can make an informed decision about the role it could play in their lives. Voluntary organisations may have a key role to play in these policies and strategies.

The study reviewed recent research and conducted new qualitative research - 23 in-depth interviews with key informants across Europe with expertise in voluntary organisations and the information society. This report is an exploratory analysis of how voluntary organisations can foster a more inclusive information society. The study cannot quantify the extent of this activity but does suggest ways that the number of voluntary organisations doing this work could be increased and their work improved.

Analysis is presented in four thematic chapters: training and employment in the information society, democratic participation and online content, social capital and participation for all, and funding and partnerships.

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