DIGITAL INCLUSION

• GERA has so far delivered laptops to 86 households in 2021

The ubiquity of the Internet poses challenges and opportunies for individuals and communities alike. These challenges and opportunies have not been evenly distributed. Digital technology has opened new domains of exclusion and privilege for some, leaving some populations isolated from the vast digital realm. Even equitable access, however, is no longer enough - increasingly, digital life requires that users be more than users. Users are now content creators as much as they are content consumers.

Success in the increasingly digitized social and economic realms requires a comprehensive approach to fostering inclusion. Digital inclusion brings together high-speed internet access, information technologies, and digital literacy in ways that promote success for communities and individuals trying to navigate and partipate in the digital realm.

Digital inclusion has three broad facets: access, adoption, and application. These facets show the ultimate goal of creating digitally inclusive communities.

• Access: Availability, affordability, design for inclusion, and public access.
• Adoption: Relevance, digital literacy, and consumer safety.
• Application: Economic and workforce development, education, health care, public safety and emergency services, civic engagement, and social connections.