eGos

The 6th European Conference on e-Guidance: "Widening access to lifelong guidance", will be held in Riga (Latvia) on 16th and 17th September 2009. Public bodies and private organizations will have the opportunity to debate during plenary sessions and thematic workshops. In addition, a specific exposition area will enable participants to see the most recent products and services in the field of e-guidance. The conference is jointly organized by the ELPGN – European Lifelong Guidance Policy Network (http://ktl.jyu.fi/ktl/elgpn) and by the eGOS project (www.egos-cip.eu) with the support of the European Commission through the Lifelong Learning and CIP programmes.
 
In June 2006 the European Commission adopted the new i2010 strategy - European Information Society 2010 . Building on the Manchester Declaration from the 2005 Ministerial eGovernment Conference, it had five priorities:
-    No citizen left behind
-    Making efficiency & effectiveness reality
-    High-impact services
-    Putting in place key enablers
-    Strengthening participation
More than one third of people in the EU do not have access to ICT-based public services. Member States have committed themselves to inclusive eGovernment objectives to ensure that "by 2010 all citizens, including socially disadvantaged groups, become major beneficiaries of eGovernment, and European public administrations deliver public information and services that are more easily accessible and increasingly trusted by the public, through innovative use of ICT, increasing awareness of the benefits of eGovernment, and improved skills and support for all users" (European Commission. eGovernment Progress in EU27+: Reaping the Benefit. Information Society and Media, 19 September 2007)
Inclusive eGovernment addresses social exclusion by focusing on delivery mechanisms along the supply chain so that all citizens, especially those most in need of government support, can benefit from the advantages brought about by eGovernment without necessarily using eservices themselves. Member States should now put in place multi-channel service delivery strategies, since this is likely to provide a sustainable model for inclusive public services. ICT can make life easier for businesses and citizens by making administrations more efficient – quicker – and also more effective. In addition to specific services and specific excluded groups, the evidence shows that eGovernment is most successful when coordinated widely across the public sector at different levels – European, national, regional, local – as well as requiring the constant commitment and synergy of the main relevant players: governments, private sector and civil society.
Inclusive eGovernment is thus targeted at all groups that are at risk of exclusion from the Information Society, and groups that do not have equal opportunities to benefit from it. As already happens in several on-going actions, disabled and older people are covered, but so are many other groups including those with low levels of education, low digital skills, the unemployed, ethnic minorities, people living in isolated areas, etc. In the Ministerial Riga Declaration on eInclusion of June 2006, the term “eInclusion” concerns both inclusive ICT and their use in order to reach wider inclusion goals. eInclusion aims at the participation of all citizens and communities in all sectors of the information society. Thus, policies focused on eInclusion should aim at reducing gaps in ICT usage and at promoting its use in order to overcome exclusion, and improve economic performance, employment opportunities, quality of life, social participation and cohesion (cf. Riga Ministerial Declaration in June 2006).
 
Info:  riga2009@egos-cip.eu
Registration form: click here