National Digital Inclusion Action Plan Presented

On Wednesday 6 October 2021, Marc Hansen, Luxembourg's Minister for Digitisation, presented details of the National Digital Inclusion Action Plan adopted by the Government in Council on 24 September 2021.

In its coalition agreement, the government pledged to propose "specific avenues to include every citizen in our increasingly digital society and to thwart the digital divide that divides society". To do this, an inter-ministerial working group, coordinated by the Ministry of Digitisation and composed of representatives of 18 ministries, was set up in 2019 in order to take stock of current government actions in the field of digitalisation, digital inclusion. In addition, a catalogue of projects that the various state entities intend to implement has been established for the digital inclusion of all of society.

In parallel with the work of the working group, the Ministry of Digitisation had discussions with a large number of civil society actors in order to complete the analysis of the needs and expectations of populations potentially far from digital. These exchanges were a significant source of information on the challenges posed by digitisation for their respective target audiences.

3 strategic levers

The National Digital Inclusion Action Plan is centred around 3 interdependent strategic levers to ensure digital inclusion for all citizens.

Increase motivation and instil digital confidence

In order to feel motivated to use digital tools, a person must be able to see their usefulness and be aware of the information and online services that can be useful to them on a day-to-day basis. Its confidence, for its part, is based on its knowledge of digital tools and services that can best guarantee its digital security. The initiatives of the action plan to strengthen digital confidence therefore focus on two key aspects: awareness of digital issues and risks as well as the development of the skills necessary to use basic technologies, among others.

Facilitate access to digital

Giving citizens access to IT tools and the Internet and ensuring that the content offered by the public sector is accessible to a diverse audience is essential for everyone's inclusion. In this area, the initiatives of the national digital inclusion action plan aim to extend and improve access to digital tools and to design inclusive digital solutions that guarantee better usability and easier access to content.

Develop digital skills

To develop the digital skills of citizens, it is essential to offer them training adapted to their level of knowledge. It is about meeting the needs of different target audiences in order to make them digitally self-sufficient. By offering digital literacy in formal and non-formal education for all levels and all age groups, dedicated initiatives will enable citizens to acquire the necessary digital autonomy.

18 initiatives of the Ministry of Digitisation

In total, the Action Plan presents 40 initiatives spread over the 3 identified strategic levers. The Ministry of Digitisation is responsible for the implementation of 18 of these 40 initiatives.

In 2022, priority will be placed on the following initiatives:
• Development of digital skills training adapted to the needs of various target audiences.
• Putting online a reference Internet portal bringing together the actions and contacts of actors dedicated to digital inclusion. The portal will aim to give national visibility to actions and to generate possible synergies.
• Creation of a dedicated interdisciplinary forum inviting all stakeholders to discuss the subject.
• Launch of an annual call for applications for the funding of pilot projects promoting digital inclusion.
• Launch of a study on the impact of recent digital developments on populations far from digital.
• Organization of a day dedicated to digital inclusion in order to educate the general public on the subject.
• Feasibility analysis for the implementation of a "digital proxy".
• Production of short films (tutorials, didactic sequences, etc.) presenting various aspects of the digital world to the general public.

Annual monitoring and evaluation

The national digital inclusion action plan is dynamic and must take into account permanent developments in technology and society. It will therefore be evaluated annually by the Ministry of Digitalisation, together with the members of the inter-ministerial working group for digital inclusion.