Release date - Tuesday 18th November 2008
DIGITAL TV AND MOBILE SERVICE RECOGNISED FOR GROWTH IN TAKE UP AMONG DIGITALLY AND SOCIALLY EXCLUDED GROUPS AS "NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ADULT CONTINUING EDUCATION" SURVEY SHOWS THAT ONE THIRD OF ADULTS HAVE YET TO ADOPT COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY
DigiTV - which provides TV and mobile access to electronic government services - has been awarded a place in the finals of the e-Government National Awards 2008 (*www.e-governmentawards.co.uk) in recognition of the huge take up of its services among previously digitally excluded citizens. This comes in a week when the National Institute for Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) published annual survey results showing that 36% of adults still do not have access to a computer.*
Robin Blake, Head of Media Literacy, Ofcom, said "People without the skills to use new communications technologies run the risk of being excluded socially, politically and financially. We all need to help people develop their media literacy to build confidence to benefit from the many opportunities available in this digital world." Rachel Thompson, NIACE Lead Officer for Media Literacy, said "Significant numbers of adults remain on the wrong side of the digital divide. Television continues to play an important role in our leisure time. Too often, assumptions are made about people's ability to participate in the virtual world. Considerable effort is needed to ensure that those who are already marginalized do not become yet further disadvantaged.
The news also coincides with Digital Inclusion Minister Paul Murphy's own announcement this week that the Communities and Local Government (CLG) department is launching a charter for digital inclusion to tackle the barriers to citizen engagement with technology. Guy Giles, DigiTV's Operations Director, is attending the workshop hosted by Paul Murphy on Wednesday 19th November to launch the digital inclusion charter, as DigiTV is one of the organizations tendering to participate in the CLG's proposed digital mentoring scheme to be discussed at the workshop. Guy Giles commented: "Many socially excluded people who don't have access to a computer do spend a lot of time watching television and are comfortable with that technology. We are hoping that through our digital TV and mobile channel we can provide more socially disadvantaged people with access to the government services they need."
One of DigiTV's clients, Greater Norwich Housing Partnership, also made the final of the e-Government awards for its contribution to building a fairer society using DigiTV technology. The Greater Norwich Sub-Regional Choice Based Lettings (CBL) scheme brings choice of social housing to digitally excluded groups using a plugin linking CBL into Looking Local, enabling those without internet access to bid for social housing via interactive TV and mobile.
The annual e-Government National Awards are the UK's highest level commendation for the best e-Government services - services which, through innovative online delivery or IT implementation, positively transform the lives of citizens, local communities, business and stakeholders. Tom Watson MP, Cabinet Office Minister with responsibility for Transformational Government says: "Public services continue to be transformed by technology, improving delivery on the front line and making us more efficient behind the scenes. I'm really looking forward to seeing all the winners in January."
John Suffolk, the Government's Chief Information Officer, says:" I have been very pleased to see so many high quality entries for this year's e-government National Awards, which highlight the many ways technology is being used to transform our public services. I congratulate the 68 finalists and look forward to meeting the winners in January".
