News

Digital exclusion affects up to 40% of the Belgian population

21 June 2022

Today, no less than 40% of the Belgian population runs the risk of being excluded from the increasingly digitalised society. This puts their fundamental rights at risk. Imagine buying a house or looking for a new job without access to the Internet. Unfortunately, this is a reality for a large proportion of Belgians, from all walks of life, irrespective of age or background.

Awareness campaign

To put this reality and digital inclusion in the spotlight, DigitAll launched an awareness campaign on 16 June during a press event at the Human Rights Obelisk on the Thurn & Taxis site. A replica of the obelisk was projected upside down using special effects to illustrate that our fundamental human rights are shaken by digital exclusion.

The campaign is also run on radio, television, online and in public spaces. Campaign leaflets are distributed in the offices of Bpost, BNP Paribas and Proximus shops.

The campaign features testimonials to show that people who do not have access to digital technology, who do not have the necessary skills or who are afraid to use it, are not able to exercise their fundamental human rights fully today.

On the new website www.digitall.be DigitAll brings together the different initiatives intended to reduce digital exclusion. By showing what is currently on offer, DigitAll also wants to inspire and motivate other stakeholders in society to embark on the road to more digital inclusion.

DNS Belgium supports DigitAll

DigitAll is a broad coalition of companies, organisations from the social sector and government institutions that come together to raise awareness about and take action on digital inclusion. Together with 45 other organisations, DNS Belgium supports this initiative and has signed the charter for digital inclusion. We are doing this because we are convinced that access to the digital society will be a more sustainable society, where scarce resources are used more efficiently.

At DigitAll, we want not only to build a network of relevant knowledge partners, but also to offer concrete solutions so as to close the digital gap, because there still is one in our country.

With this article, we support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.