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Building the Knowledge Society Information Society Commission 61Social Inclusion ContextBuilding an inclusive society is set out as the key priority of Government in the National AntiPoverty Strategy (NAPS), which contains a nationally agreed set of policy targets, proposalsand programmes towards the elimination of the main factors contributing to the prevalence ofrelative poverty and social exclusion in Irish society. Careful attention is needed in this contextto the risks of new forms of exclusion associated with the emergence of the knowledge societyand the increasing prevalence of new technologies. For example, the International AdultLiteracy Survey (1997) points to the need for a new emphasis on document literacy skillsto support participation in an increasingly knowledge-oriented society. Basic ICT skills arealso increasingly seen as a component of functional literacy.Recommendation 53:Government should ensure that the National Anti Poverty Strategy (NAPS) and all othersocial inclusion measures include appropriate indicators to reflect new risks of socialexclusion associated with the emergence of the knowledge society.Community and Voluntary SectorThe New Connections Action Plan notes that community and voluntary organisationshave the potential to play an important role in engaging late adopters of new technologies.The evaluation of the community-led projects supported through the CAIT initiative shouldcontribute to better understanding of how public policy can support and facilitate this role.However, it is important that further policy development in this area is underpinned by aprocess of dialogue and consultation with the community and voluntary sector, building onfora such as the Implementation and Advisory Group (IAG) established under the White Paperon Supporting Voluntary Activity, and the support provided by Comhairle to the sector. Thepotential of awareness building measures in the sector should also be explored in this context.Recommendation 54:Government must ensure that policy development in relation to the role of communityand voluntary organisations in inclusive Information Society development is underpinnedby a process of dialogue and consultation with the community and voluntary sector.Recommendation 55:The Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs should bring forward earlyproposals in relation to the role of ICT in supporting wider community developmentobjectives, building on the evaluation of the CAIT initiative.
62 Building the Knowledge Society Information Society CommissionRole of Community ChampionsLeadership has a key role to play in highlighting the innovative potential of new technologies,their applications, and fostering greater engagement with them. In this context, the Commissionis very supportive of the concept of Community Champions as set out in the GovernmentAction Plan to support the Universal Participation initiative – working with the variouseducation, training, business, local development and community and voluntary intereststo agree objectives, encourage engagement with ICT, and create a shared sense of purposein Information Society development. There is no doubt that this should be an importantfeature of any strategy to engage late adopters of new technologies, particularly in the lightof evidence from a number of sources that many remain to be convinced that such technologieshave a relevance for them. 40It is therefore a cause for concern that the Universal Participation initiative, which was to havebeen progressed on a proof-of-concept basis in 2002, has not yet materialised. The Commissionsees significant potential in this initiative, building on the deployment of Community Championsand supported by the bringing together of budget-holders and decision-makers from the keypublic service and local development agencies through the County and City DevelopmentBoard (CDB) structure.Recommendation 56:Clear priority must be given to progressing the Universal Participation initiative buildingon the leadership role of Community Champions as set out in the Government Action Plan.The creation of an engaging digital environment at the level of local needs should be keyfocus in this context.ICT LiteracyICT Literacy is increasingly recognised as a basic skill, including for example by the White Paperon Adult Education and the recently published report of the Taskforce on Lifelong Learning.The Commission is concerned that, aside from the Equalskills pilot project, there is littleevidence of substantive public policy engagement with addressing its increasing importance.Recommendation 57:Government must give a high priority to the establishment of a national ICT Literacyprogramme, building on the experience of the Equalskills pilot project.ICT AccessibilityThe IT Accessibility Guidelines produced by the NDA during 2002 must be welcomed as akey development and provide clear direction on best practice in designing usable interfacesfor service and information delivery. The guidelines need to be supported by a monitoringprocess to establish compliance levels, including amongst public sector agencies.40 For example in a survey carried out for the previous Information Society Commission by MRBI in 2000, over halfof respondents who did not have Internet access were either not at all or not very interested in having such access
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