Digital Equality: how an open Web can contribute to a more Equal world?

Renata Avila, Cathleen Berger, Thomas Lohninger, Melanie Dulong de
Rosnay The open internet is an ever more vital tool for those
working to renew and deepen democracy and build more just and
inclusive societies. But it is being compromised by gatekeeper tech
companies that are shaping and limiting access to open and free
virtual world. It is under assault from the same forces that are
squeezing the space for debate and opposition in the offline world.
Furthermore, digitisation is increasing inequalities, and the
divide is affecting rich and poor countries. As the Delhi
Declaration states: “Opportunities for the many to participate in
the very real benefits of the Internet, and to fully realize its
enormous potential, are being thwarted by growing control of the
Internet by those with power - large corporations and certain
national governments. They use their central positions of influence
to consolidate power and to establish a new global regime of
control and exploitation; under the guise of favouring
liberalization, they are in reality reinforcing the dominance and
profitability of major corporations at the expense of the public
interest, and the overarching position of certain national
interests at the expense of global interests and well being” The
majority of people in the world enjoy neither access, skills nor
full freedom to access information, create and collaborate online.
These digital inequalities are increasingly causing (and not just
reflecting) offline disadvantage. In developed nations, work is
becoming more precarious, labour rights have been eroded and
services for disadvantaged groups are harder to access if those
lack connectivity. Today, more than 50% of the world remains
offline. Beyond this gap in basic connectivity, there are
increasing disparities in quality of use, and the extent to which
internet users gain significant economic, social or political
empowerment. On both fronts, women, the poor and other marginalised
populations are hardest hit. While continuing our work to make
broadband internet connectivity affordable and accessible to all,
we will also expand our efforts to enable women and excluded groups
to fully appropriate the Web, and to ensure that the digital
economy provides a level playing field for inclusive growth. The
workshop will focus on 4 key public policy interventions towards
achieving digital equality, quoting examples of countries,
communities and institutions working in each area: Net Neutrality
as a global standard. Digital Literacy: Development of skills to
read, write and participate in the digital work. Gender Equality:
 and considering gender while designing Digital Equality
strategies Access to affordable and diverse content. Alternatives
for community empowerment to tackle inequalities, from research
gathered by http://netcommons.eu/ and
MAZI http://www.mazizone.eu/