About the ITU-D Digital Inclusion Programme
As accelerators and amplifiers of change, ICTs have the potential to quickly and radically improve people’s lives. They facilitate access to information and knowledge, simplify the delivery of essential services and enable social and economic participation. ICTs, however, are not always equally accessible to everyone because we are all different and some of us have specific needs to access digital information and services.
Digital inclusion means ensuring all people have an equal opportunity to become empowered through ICTs and be part of digital society. To achieve this goal ICTs should be accessible, which means they are designed to respect the needs of all people – including those with disabilities. In doing so, we can ensure that future smart communities will be fully accessible to everyone and that digital societies benefit all people equally.
The Digital Inclusion Programme promotes ICT accessibility as a means to empower all people – regardless their gender, age, ability, or location – through ICTs.
We support ITU Members in their efforts to create more inclusive digital societies in their respective countries and regions, as well as to ensure the socio-economic development and full and effective participation in society and the digital economy of all their citizens, by:
Developing key resources on digital inclusion topics (including model policies and strategies, toolkits, guidelines and trainings).
- Providing strategic advice and supporting ITU Members to develop their in-country digital inclusion policies, strategies and programmes.
| - Raising awareness and calling for action to achieve inclusive digital societies through events, workshops and forums of discussion aimed at sharing knowledge and best practices.
- Developing the knowledge of ITU Members and related stakeholders in ICT accessibility and related digital inclusion policies and strategies.
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Our work is guided by two main principles:
- ‘Nothing about us without us,’ which means recognizing the intrinsic value of the experiences, opinions and expertise of individuals and communities within a society, and including them in any intervention made on their behalf or for their benefit.
A holistic approach to and understanding of digital inclusion, which recognizes that an individual can experience exclusion for several reasons simultaneously, and that activities designed for one group may therefore also positively impact other groups. For instance, since most people will experience age-related disabilities at some point in their lives, ICT accessibility is beneficial not only to persons with disabilities, but to all of us.
For all enquiries relating to the ITU-D Digital Inclusion Programme, please email us: digital.inclusion@itu.int.
