Everyone must be able to continue participating in our society. That in turn calls for investment in accessible and understandable communication and improved digital skills. This can for example be achieved by providing people with limited digital skills with mobile telephones and iPads/tablets, and by ensuring the use of clear language in government communication. We are continuing programmes that promote initiatives of this kind. We are also examining how these programmes can be integrated in the future within a single organisation capable of delivering complete and personal services to everyone in our country.
In all of these plans, a digital identity is essential. Individual citizens need a digital identity in order to be able to do business with government reliably and securely. The ever growing use of data also makes it all the more important for individual citizens and entrepreneurs to be able to take control of the use of their own data both by government and private parties.
What have we achieved
In October 2019, the progress letter about digital inclusion was sent to the House of Representatives. The message contained in this letter is that everyone must be able to participate, and no one may be excluded. We are therefore organising digital government services in a way that makes them accessible and understandable for everyone.
We are also working to raise people’s digital skills to a higher level (digital literacy) and to ensure that people understand the opportunities and risks of digitalisation (digital awareness). Much work is already being undertaken by volunteers to reinforce these skills but often in the form of non-cohesive initiatives. In our approach to digital inclusion, we are therefore working alongside many different parties. By establishing new links, we are in a better position to support more people in our digitalising society. For people who despite all this support are unable to personally make use of (analogue or digital) government services, it is important that they are able to authorise someone else to act on their behalf.
Improving digital inclusion is a challenge that requires constant attention. In 2019, among others the following actions were implemented or initiated:
- Since 1 July 2018, government organisations are required by law to take the measures necessary to make their websites and mobile applications more accessible. They are also required to account in detail for their activities, in an accessibility statement. In the summer of 2019, the Accessibility Foundation carried out a zero measurement for web accessibility so that overall accessibility can be measured and improved over the coming years. At the latest by September 2020, all government organisations must be operating according to the guideline. In real terms, this means that they must operate according to the accessibility standard and must demonstrate via a public accessibility statement the stage of development they have achieved. The zero measurement has revealed that accessibility to one out of three government websites was already reasonably well organised one year before the introduction of the temporary Decree for existing websites, but that the majority of websites did not yet fully satisfy all accessibility requirements.
- Via the Count with Language (Tel mee met Taal) programme, work is being undertaken to improve the digital skills of those with limited literacy. On 9 September 2019, the Minister of OCW (also on behalf of SZW, VWS and BZK) signed an administrative agreement with municipalities to ensure that adults receive more assistance in improving their basic skills. On that basis, on 1 January 2020, the follow up to the ‘Count with Language’ programme was launched. This programme offers the necessary infrastructure (including a range of training courses) for learning a variety of basic skills, including digital skills. Once people start to acquire digital skills, they often move on to learning other skills sets, including reading, writing and arithmetic. In this way, the learning of digital skills helps people participate more broadly in other aspects of society, too.
- We have opened fifteen Digital Government Information Points. These information points are located in libraries and offer general information also available via the various websites of the public service providers, but that is not easy to find for people with limited digital skills. This includes general information about tax rebate on rents, unemployment benefits or old age pension, healthcare, fines, child allowance and health declarations for driving proficiency certificates for the over 75s. Linking these information points to the municipal service counter could prove of added value to individual citizens. In consultation with the VNG, we are investigating how those links can best be achieved.
- In March 2019, the Digital Society Alliance was launched. This alliance brings together public and private parties, knowledge institutions and practical experts to create a more digitally skilled Netherlands. The alliance began a collaborative cooperation in 2019 to provide support to the elderly, in using digital skills. The programme, supported by Mediawijzer, VodafoneZiggo, Samsung, National Fund for the Elderly, Seniorweb, Digisterker and the Royal Netherlands Library, goes by the title: ‘Social environment, take action and switch ‘on’ your grandpa/grandma/neighbour/friend’. To publicise this new programme more widely, during the Media Awareness Week, a ‘National On Day’ will be held on 9 November 2020.
- On 14 February 2020, the Alliance launched the #realcontact (echtcontact.nu) The aim of this campaign is to focus more attention on tech awareness and the importance of maintaining a human perspective. In April and May 2020, a series of initiatives were organised to encourage #realcontact specifically during the corona crisis. An initiative was launched for example, to provide the elderly with digital devices such as tablets and laptops, while the Kids Council joined the Minister for Children in assisting the elderly in using such applications as video calls and WhatsApp. We have also published stories about people who remained connected by digital means during the crisis.
Do you want to know more? Read the chapter about accessible, understandable and intended for everyone (PDF, 173 Kb).