eWORK 2000 - European Telework Week

New Ways to Work 2000European Telework5.12 PortugalAbout 23% of the Portuguese adult population, which means almost 2 million people, were using the internetin 1999. In accordance with the official Statistics body in Portugal (INE) only 14.3% of the Portuguesefamilies owned a computer in 1999, which compares with the 50% overall penetration of the GSM service. All3 GSM operators began launching WAP services in 1999. These facts may announce a possible surge in m-commerce and m-work in the near future in Portugal.The telework base in Portugal is estimated to be in excess of 100,000 showing the growing importance oftelework and e-work. The activities of APDT, operating since mid 1997, have succeeded in attracting theattention of many potential teleworkers. The interest of the media, from major newspapers and magazines toTV, has been strategically important in bringing to the attention of the whole of society the benefits oftelework as a new way of working and improving the quality of life. All this has laid a solid platform for thestrong development of telework in Portugal, and also has the potential of linking to more than 200 millionPortuguese speakers around the world.This year was very important for telework for Portuguese native speakers since APDT, working together withthe Brazilian and the Portuguese Governments, and namely their Scientific and Technological Ministriesorganised a series of events in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, under the umbrella of “Redescoberta 2000”(Rediscovery 2000). This is one way in which Portuguese telework will cross continental boarders to assumeits strategic position in the world and reaffirm the universality of the Portuguese culture and language.The Government of Portugal has a progressive approach to Information Society developments, reflected in the1997 Mission for the Information Society Green Paper and later on establishing the creation of an InformationSociety to all citizens as a central objective for the period 1999-2002. The summit of Heads of state onEmployment and the IS held in Lisbon in March 2000, under the Portuguese presidency of the Union, was aclear sign of that will .This very active approach recognises that Portugal starts from a low level of investment in and use of ICTsand, historically, little activity in Internet Society applications such as telework. Telework features in theInformation Society strategy and incentives for employers and citizens are in place or planned. Focusedapplications such as tele-medicine and tele-learning, with the use of technology to develop and sustain ruralprosperity and jobs have tended to have higher priorities for Portugal than home-based teleworking.Telework background and take-up of ICTs• Portugal has a historically low per capita GDP and a low investment rate in terms of ICT as a percentageof GDP, leading to Europe's lowest density of PCs and second from lowest number of Internet users:GDP percapita ($US),1997ICT as %of GDP,1998ICT percapita(ECU), 1998PCs per 100white collarworkers, 1997Internetusers per1000population,1997Internetusers per1000population, 1999Portugal 10,079 4.92% 477 27 19 180EU lowest country Portugal 3.93% 452 Portugal 11EU highestcountry** excluding Luxembourg30,927 6.49% 1,554 85 148- 92 -