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DIGITAL INCLUSION AND THE DIGITAL DIVIDE.

 Digital inclusion involves activities necessary to ensure equitable access to and use of information and communication technologies for participation in social and economic life including for education, social services, health, social and community participation. Digital inclusion is a socio- technological process that encompasses individuals, communities and vulnerable groups being able to have access and digital skills to use internet technologies and therefore to be able to participate and benefit from today's growing information society. Digital inclusion also means being able to use digital devices such as computers or smart phones and the internet. Digital divide is a term that refers to the gap between demographics and regions that have access to modern information and communication technology and those that don't or have restricted access. Digital divide is the gap in social and economic equality that occurs when some segments of a given population do not have equal access to information and communication technology (ICT) and reliable high speed internet service. Digital divide is also a concept that refers to the difference between regions and populations that have access to modern information and communication technology and those that do not have or have limited access to it. The telephone, television, personal computers, smartphones, tablets, iPads and the internet can be part of this technology. Access is the main cause of digital divide. Although this is the key contributing factor, there are other contributing factors that include the following; technological costs, disabled access, lack of expertise, lack of education, lack of information and computers with lower efficiency. Hence, the two words digital inclusion and digital divide are like two sesame twins that goes together hand in hand.


THE DIGITAL INCLUSION WEEK 2022.

The digital inclusion week begins from 3rd - 7th October, 2022, the celebration is an annual week of awareness, recognition and celebration of digital technology the world over, and the contributions it has made to the global community by connecting people and communities together and making the whole world a global village. Organizations and individuals across countries host special events and campaigns to promote digital equity and inclusion in their communities.


THE THREE TYPES OF DIGITAL DIVIDE.

The digital divide are grouped into three categories or types, that are mostly peculiar to the female gender and the most vulnerable populations in the society which further widens the digital gap between men and women, the literate and the illiterate, the economically empowered and the less economically empowered. These are:

 1. GENDER DIVIDE: The gender divide or gender gap describes the disparity between different genders in society and in turn the labour market and business world, including inequality of opportunity, pay, progression and benefits. It refers to the differences in how men and women are treated in job market and workplace with regard to recruitment, pay, progression, job function, treatment, benefits and perception by colleagues and managers. This divide also cut across the digital technology space, where women lacks quality access to digital technological facilities at their disposal due to their poor economic and financial status, illiteracy, education and empowerment can hinder women from bridging the digital divide.

2. SOCIAL DIVIDE: Social divide refers to regular pattern of division in society that are associated with membership of particular social groups, generally in terms of advantages and disadvantages, inequalities and differences. These are; class, race, gender and geographical location, that indicate differences in lifestyle and experience. Social divide is one of the critical factor faced by women which hinders their ability to bridged the digital gap. By virtue of their gender, economic class due to poverty, women find it extremely difficult to break the barrier of digital divide to get opportunities in the digital space and workplace, this factor mostly relegate them to the background in the scheme of things.

3. UNIVERSAL ACCESS DIVIDE: Universal access divide refers to some part of the world that remains segregated from the internet and its vast potentials due to lack of digital literacy skills, low educational levels and inadequate broadband infrastructure. This also implies connectivity that anyone, anywhere, regardless of geographical location, socio-economic status, race, gender or any other differentiating demographic has access to affordable services and devices to connect to reliable and safe internet.


A YOUNG ASIAN GIRL LEARNING WITH HER PERSONAL LAPTOP COMPUTER SYSTEM.


THE THREE FACTORS OF DIGITAL DIVIDE.

There are three factors that aids in widening the gap of digital inclusion and divide, mostly in low and middle income countries of the world (third world countries). These factors are;

1. INFORMATION ACCESSIBILITY: lnformation accessibility or accessible information means information provided in formats that allow all users to equally access content. 

2. INFORMATION UTILIZATION: lnformation utilization is the processing of data and information within the information technology (IT) network, systems and applications.

3. INFORMATION RECEPTIVENESS: lnformation receptiveness is the ability and willingness to take in information or ideas.


THE THREE STAGES OF DIGITAL DIVIDE.

The digital divide involves three stages that hindered digital inclusion, these are;

1. ECONOMIC DIVIDE: Refers to several aspects in our economy, such as the economic differences between urban and rural areas, the widening income and wealth differences between high and low income households and different views on public policy regarding the economy.

2. USABILITY DIVIDE: The usability divide is concerned with the fact that "technology remains so complicated that many people couldn't use a computer even if they got one for free".

3. EMPOWERMENT DIVIDE: is concerned with how we use technology to empower ourselves.

The barriers of digital divide includes; 

- Access

- Skills

- Motivation

- Emotion

- Utility.



YOUNG PEOPLE IN AFRICA LEARNING WITH THEIR LAPTOP COMPUTER SYSTEM. 

(In Sub-saharan Africa, 89% of learners lack access to computers at home, and 82% lack internet access. (Source: UN 2021).

THE GLOBAL STATISTICS ON DIGITAL DIVIDE AND INCLUSION.

Digital technologies have come to stay in the 21st century, with virtually everything being done with the use and help of the digital technologies and facilities by people and organizations from around the world. Digital technologies aid in the quick dissemination of information and data real time and makes the world a global village. Yet, despite the availability of all these technologies and modern gadget facilities, a lot of people around the globe are still left behind in the internet and digital space. Studies and statistics shows that;

Almost half of the world's population, 3.7 billion people, the majority of them women, and most in developing countries are still offline (Source: UN 2021). Where more than 80% of the population are still offline. In comparison, the unconnected population in developed countries and developing countries stands at 13% and 15% respectively. In sub-Saharan Africa, 89% of learners lack access to computers at home, and 82% lack internet access. Today, half of the world's population are still not online. While Asia has the highest number of people without access, Africa leads the world in the percentage of the population without connection at 88%. (Source: UNICEF 2018). According to UNESCO 2021, only 55% of households globally have an internet connection. In the poorest countries, this percentage drops to below 20%. For example, globally women are 23% less likely to have internet access than men. This divide exists even in countries with high internet penetration.

- 3.7 billion of people are not connected to the internet.

- 2.9 billion people lacks the opportunities to go online and engage with the digital economy.

- 3.4 billion of them are covered by broadband, but do not use the internet.

- Only 53% of the world's population has access to high speed broad band.

- 1.7 billion people remained unbanked without access to banking or insurance products.

1 billion of people do not have a formal proof of identity.

According to the lnternational Telecommunications Union (ITU), ln 2013, only 37% of all women were online, compared to 41% of all men. In 2017, the global internet penetration rate for men stood at 50.9% compared to 44.9% for women. This increased in 2019, with the proportion of women using the internet globally standing at 48% compared to 58% of men. In 2022, 62% of men were using the internet compared to 57% of women, meaning that the global internet use gender gap stands at 8%. However, this divide is more glaring in the Least Developed Countries (LDC), many of which are in Africa, where only 19% of women used the internet in 2020 compared to 86% in the developed world. The digital divide persists with 2.9 billion people lacking opportunities to go online and engage purposefully with the digital economy, meaning they face a worsening cycle of disenfranchisement. Notably, there is a substantial divide between men and women in internet access and use globally, as a majority of the 2.9 billion people lacking opportunities to go online are women and girls. Unfortunately, that's a lot of people. Despite some improvement in recent years, a third of the world's population (2.9 billion people) suffers from digital divide, even though 95% of the the world's population resides within range of a mobile broadband  network. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2022, only 53% of the world's population has access to high speed broad band.


A LAPTOP COMPUTER - DIGITAL DEVICE.

In helping to close the gap of developed and underdeveloped nations in the world regarding technology and digital advancement, key critical issues revolving around economic challenges of low educational levels, poor infrastructural development, low quality of life and income levels of the vulnerable populations should be addressed, to bridged the digital divide and get it totally eliminated across the world.



THE VSAT BROADBAND - SATELLITE DISH.



WHAT IS THE WAY FORWARD TO CLOSE THE GAP OF DIGITAL DIVIDE GLOBALLY?

Having known what the concept of digital divide is all about, as the inequality in access to the internet and ICT, and also as the gap between demographics of people in their ability to understand, access and effectively use technology. This inequality affects 52% of women and 42% of men worldwide. This inequality in ability can be due to a variety of factors, which includes age, country of origin or residence, exposure to technology, available income and motivation. We can together proffer solutions to close the digital gap and divide by implementing digital inclusion policies, programs and tools that incorporate the following;

- Affordable, robust broadband and internet service. According to the UN, affordable internet is defined as not more than 2% of a person's monthly income per Gigabyte of data.

- lnternet - enabled devices that meet the needs of the user.

- Access to digital literacy training

- Quality technical support.


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BRIEF PERSONAL BACKGROUND OF MR. ENOBONG EKWERE (DIGITAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST) IN NIGERIA.



Comrade Enobong Ekwere is a social influencer, blogger, vlogger, digital rights activist, SDGs advocate and a global citizen. He is the program manager of children and young people living for peace (CYPLP) an organic, voluntary, youth focused and a think- tank non governmental organization based in Kaduna, Nigeria. A Higher National Diploma (HND) graduate of Public Administration (Upper Credit) level from the Federal Polytechnic, Bida, Niger State, Nigeria. Enobong Ekwere holds a proficiency certificate in management from the Nigerian Institute of Management, Chartered (NIM) Lagos, Nigeria. He is also a graduate member of the institute (Associate member in view). He works with young people in local communities across Nigeria localizing the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and advocating for digital rights and open internet in Nigeria, accelerating action online and offline, engaging duty bearers and policy makers to be accountable for it's implementation by 2030. He is a strong advocate of good governance and democracy, digital rights and open internet, accountability in government, freedom of information, access to information, free press, social justice and social inclusion. As a youth advocate and a global leader who loves to see social reforms in the society, he uses his personalized blog to write compelling stories on developmental and topical issues on national and global concern that shapes and transform people's lives and impact the larger society for knowledge transfer and lifelong learning. He engages in community service and volunteerism, community outreach, social mobilization and advocacy tours to hard to reach local communities in Nigeria advocating and advancing the cause of the SDGs, digital rights and open internet in particular so that no community and youth would be left behind. CYPLP as an organization works primarily in serving vulnerable population of children, youth, elderly persons, persons living with disabilities (PLWD's) and women in unserved, underserved, underrepresented, disadvantaged and marginalized local communities in Nigeria.

He can be reached via: 

Tel:+2347082558952 

Email: julyenobong2020@gmail.com

            : enobongekwere825@gmail.com



MY PERSONAL SOCIAL MEDIA HANDLES:

FACEBOOK: 

https://www.facebook.com/enobong.ekwere.372

TWITTER: 

http://www.twitter.com/Enobongekwere2

INSTAGRAM: 

http://www.instagram.com/enobongekwere825

LINKEDIN: 

https://www.linkedIn.com/in/enobong-ekwere-3271b116b


MY ORGANIZATIONA'S SOCIAL MEDIA HANDLES:

FACEBOOK:

https://www.facebook.com/cyplp.net.ng/

TWITTER: 

http://www.twitter.com/youngpeoplefor/

INSTAGRAM

http://www.instagram.com/cyplp/

WEBSITE:

www.cyplp.net.ng









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