European e-Inclusin Awards 2008

11.8.2008 Karolina Kotwica - Awards Executive - London / AT

European Commission launch the 2008 European e-Inclusion Awards to help fight the digital divide.

The European Commission has just launched the first ever European e-Inclusion Awards. As part of the European Commission's e-Inclusion Initiative, the Awards will celebrate the best and most imaginative uses of Information and Communications Technology to reduce digital and social exclusion.

Digital technologies are an essential part of daily life. We use them at work, in day-to-day relationships, in dealing with public services, and a lot more besides. They touch our lives in ways which we are often unaware of, or don’t even think about. Yet an estimated 1 in 3 Europeans fail to benefit from new technologies.

Overcoming this ‘digital exclusion’ is not just a social necessity, it is estimated that it could be worth up to €85 billion to European companies and governments over the next five years. The European e-Inclusion Awards aim to inspire progress and to encourage industry, governments and other organisations to exploit information and communication technologies to combat social and digital exclusion.

The European e-Inclusion Awards are open to organisations in the public, business and voluntary sector or civil society. There are seven competition categories:

• Ageing Well
• Marginalised Young People
• Geographic Inclusion
• Cultural Diversity
• Digital Literacy
• e-Accessibility
• Inclusive Public Services

Entries will close on the 12th September 2008 and five finalists in each category will be invited to exhibit at the Ministerial Conference on E-Inclusion to be held in Vienna in December 2008 as part of the "e-Inclusion:Be Part of It!" campaign (see http://ec.europa.eu/einclusion ). The overall winners will be announced at the Awards dinner and ceremony.

For more information on the Awards or to register, contact the awards team on +44 207 234 3549
or visit the website www.e-inclusionawards.eu
or you may load and read the Pdf-document (4,7 Mb) European e-Inclusion Awards 2008