Digital inclusion discussed at British-Irish Council
BREXIT and digital inclusion initiatives were on the agenda at yesterday’s British-Irish Council Summit hosted by the Isle of Man.
Economic Development vice-president Andrea Dudley-Owen attended the event, which also considered political developments within BIC member administrations.
They picked up from discussions at the summit in Guernsey in June on the implications of the UK’s exit from the EU, particularly the progress of negotiations between the UK and the EU and how the possible outcomes could have an impact.
Political representatives with responsibility for the digital inclusion policy met in advance of the summit and discussed matters including barriers to people getting online such as accessibility, digital skills and motivation.
To address these issues, future challenges were discussed and priority issues identified for the British-Irish digital inclusion work sector, including digital rights, digital skills & literacy and partnership working between the BIC administrations.
Deputy Dudley-Owen said the ministerial meeting on digital inclusion gave Guernsey the opportunity to update members on the progress the island had made towards improving digital infrastructure, skills and accessibility.
‘It was obvious that among all members, these areas are all now planned and developing and positive outcomes are already being seen,’ she said.
‘One area which was striking where we all need to do more work is around the influence of digital in the form of misuse, abuse and overuse of devices and social media on our young people.’
