As I follow the headlines about digital advancements, I am filled with a sense of excitement and urgency. I wonder, how can we, as a global community, stand by and watch as millions of people are left behind in the digital age? How can we justify the fact that around 35 percent of the world’s population still does not have access to the internet?
The barriers for communities to become more digitally savvy are not something that can simply be overcome by single individuals. As our latest Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) report ‘Bridging the Gap’ has found, the two main reasons for this are the cost of technology being too high followed by a lack of training. Let’s have a deeper look into what that means.
The cost of devices and internet use still represents a major barrier to connectivity. Recent reports reveal that the share of income spent on telecommunication and internet services worldwide increased in 2021 after years of steady decline, mainly due to the global economic downturn triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This increase was particularly devastating for those in the poorest households, rural and lower income states, where the long-standing trend of gradually declining prices for these services was outweighed by a steep drop in average Gross National Income levels in 2020.
This means that children and young people in these communities are falling even further behind their peers in terms of digital inclusion, with fewer opportunities to catch up and disproportionate exposure to poverty and unemployment. It’s a heartbreaking reality that we cannot ignore.
I’m a big fan of data and the recent findings of our reports, the DCO team has accomplished. But it’s also worth saying that these are not just statistics. They represent real people and real lives with missed opportunities.
They represent the farmer in a remote village who cannot access live data that could be crucial to his business, the young girl who is unable to even learn about opportunities and skills she does not know exist, and the older person who is feeling alone and disconnected from the rest of the world.
Let me invite you on a journey to a rural area in Jordan, where a young girl lives. Let’s call her Mariam for this purpose. Mariam does not know yet what she wants to do in the future. But one day, everything changes, as she attends a SkillsLab programme.
The partnership initiative between Microsoft, the Crown Prince Foundation of Jordan and the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, shows Mariam what is possible with the right digital skills.
Suddenly, she has a vision of something she did not even know existed before and she feels empowered to take her journey one step further by applying for an internship in coding. One opportunity is opening a whole set of other opportunities. A new outlook to a bright future becomes possible to her.
This is just one story of the many lives that could be transformed if we work together to close the digital divide. Let us continue to imagine a world where all people have access to the digital tools and resources they need to thrive.
At the DCO, we are driven by a sense of urgency to address these disparities in the digital divide and ensure that everyone can prosper in our global digital economy. We believe that digital inclusion is not just a trendy topic, but something that affects every single one of us.
Our work is challenging, but it is necessary. We are tirelessly working with key stakeholders and organisations to build partnerships with governments, and everyone involved, including NGOs, and private sector organisations to amplify our impact, to think big and execute bigger, to launch impact initiatives, or to provide digital skills training to those who need it most.
But we cannot do this alone. We need a global movement of people who are committed to digital inclusion and who are willing to take action. We need policymakers who understand the critical importance of connectivity and who are willing to invest in the infrastructure and resources needed to close the digital divide.
We need businesses who recognise the benefits of a more inclusive digital economy and who are willing to take steps to ensure that everyone can participate.
Together, we can build a future where digital inclusion is not just a goal, but a reality. It is critical to ensure that everyone can learn, grow, participate, and prosper in our digital economy. Only together, we can create a world where the benefits of digital technologies are shared by all, not just the privileged few.
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