Invest in Finland

Finnish projects win e-Inclusion awards for electronic services

04/12/2008

 The European Commission has established the e-Inclusion Awards to raise awareness, encourage participation and recognise excellence and good practice in using ICT and digital technology to tackle social and digital exclusion across Europe.

Finland’s winners were the citizen journalism project Nopola News, which won in the Geographic Inclusion category, and the A-Clinic’s Varjomaailma (Shadow World) project which won the Marginalised Young People category. The Tampere City library also made it as a finalist in the Digital Literacy category.

The A-Clinic Foundation is the largest substance abuse treatment and prevention organization in Finland. Its Varjomaailma (Shadow world) project is an online forum for young people whose parents are alcohol or drug abusers. Young people can write their stories on the website and read about others’ experiences.

A total of 469 public, private and third sector organisations entered their projects for the 2008 E-inclusion Awards from 34 European and adjoining countries. The entries were were all about developing or using digital technologies to positively impact on the lives of people and communities who are socially disadvantaged, or living with disability.

According to the e-Inclusion awards website, ICT and digital technology plays an increasingly important role in all of our lives – both at work and play. However, 200 million people remain outside the information society, perhaps due to low levels of education or income, disability, cultural differences, being older, living in a rural area, or any combination of these. These people are increasingly missing out on the social and economic benefits that technology is providing for society. Estimates of the economic benefit of a more digitally inclusive society in Europe are between €35 - €85 billion over five years. The EU believes that creating an e-included society is both an economic opportunity and a social necessity.