Conference: Digital Inclusion Policy and Research

As more of our everyday lives become digital, from paying bills, to contacting companies and services and keeping in touch with your friends and family – it has become crucial to include everyone in the online world. What type of skills do people need to ‘be digital’? Do different people from different ages and abilities need different types of skills and training? And how can we foresee what skills will be needed for future work? While these questions have been occupying the private sector and policy makers, as more tasks become automated and digitalised they become ever more crucial.

This conference will bring together academic research with policy makers and stakeholders to review the current state for the art in digital inclusion policy and practice. The primary aim of this conference is to link up international policy efforts to address digital inequalities, access and skills with the outcomes of recent research at from around the globe. The intention being to support sharing best practice and research insights.

The conference will be a mix of invited presentations from policy and research colleagues, along with open paper sessions. For the open sessions we seek presentations that cover empirical research as well as policy and practice interventions, such as:

• Data analysis of levels of digital inclusion/exclusion and engagement

• Studies on the link between misinformation and data literacies

• Studies of the impacts of digital exclusion

• Policy interventions

• Case studies of initiatives and programmes

• Case studies of community impact

The conference is free to attend, but registration is essential as places are limited.