More than ever, digitalisation drives societies and its citizens forward, constantly altering the way we live, work and learn. Nonetheless, not everyone is able to benefit from these changes as the access to digital technologies as well as the ability to grasp opportunities created through digitalisation are not universal, creating and enlarging the “digital divide”.
The digital divide constitutes a gap in digitally-induced socio-economic opportunities that exists between individuals, households, business and geographic areas at different socio-economic levels. Education, training and the world of work play a key role in overcoming the digital divide and ensuring that everyone in our society can safely participate in and contribute to this digital transformation.
Consequently, the Wehubit programme supports digital solutions that contribute to closing the said digital divide by improving digital literacy and skills through education, training and the world of work. The first two topics, education and learning, are targeted since the programme identified a need for flexible and responsive education and training systems for learners, teachers and trainers and workers in order to acquire the appropriate skills to be able to function and thrive in a digital society, whether in the context of classical education or lifelong learning.
Regarding the world of work, the programme is convinced that workers should not only be able to use digital technologies (i.e. digital literacy), but should also be enabled to apply advanced digital skills in order to take full advantage of the potential of digitalisation for their profession, whether that be in the digitally-enabled economy or in the digital economy.