In a world first event, the Australian Digital Inclusion Alliance (ADIA), the US National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) and other participating organisations around the globe co-organised International Digital Inclusion Week.
International Digital Inclusion Week ran from 15 – 21 October and aimed to highlight and celebrate digital inclusion efforts around the world. We were thrilled with the variety of events that took place and conversations that were sparked on the #IDIW2018 hashtag.
Highlights included Good Thing Foundation’s Get Online Week – a week long campaign to improve digital ability in Australia and talk about the benefits of getting online. A11y Camp Conference also took place during IDIW2018, bringing together all kinds of web professionals and enthusiasts to devise strategies for a more accessible world.
Our international online panel was also a hit.
With help from a variety of organisations and individuals from who knows how many timezones, the 75-minute panel was brought together to feature the voices of four digital practitioners from different corners of the globe: Kathleen Smeaton, a librarian, educator and researcher who is currently leading the Digital Literacy project at the University of Queensland; Achilles Kameas, Associate Professor of Pervasive Computing Systems with Hellenic Open University, Greece; Munirih Jester, Connecthome Coordinator for the San Antonio Housing Authority and a lead member of the San Antonio Digital Inclusion Alliance, USA, and; Nicola Wallace Dean, Programme Lead for the Starting Point Community Learning Partnership in Stockport, UK.
Our panel discussed how digital inclusion is addressed by their organisations, whether or not digital natives have an advantage over older generations, the role of government and how we measure success.
More than 120 people watched the panel in Australia alone, with many joining at meetups in Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Wangaratta and Geelong to participate in the discussion and network locally with other Alliance participants.
Missed out on attending the panel? Not to worry – we recorded it for you. The panel chat and all resources mentioned by the panellists can be found in the YouTube comments section.
We’re glad to have opened the lines of communication and hope to continue collaborating with our international partners. Thanks to our marvellous meetup hosts, attendees and everyone who helped to bring the week together.