Stockholm, SWEDEN | 18 MARCH 2013

Today marks the start of Get Online Week – a European campaign to help more people discover the possibilities offered by the Internet. Behind the campaign is Telecentre-Europe – an organization that represents organizations that work to increase digital inclusion in Europe.

The Swedish IT Minister, Anna-Karin Hatt, will participate in Get Online Week by visiting Alby Library’s training course operation on Wednesday, March 20. During her visit, the IT Minister will meet course participants who are testing some of the possibilities offered by the Internet.

“Regardless of whether it is a matter of applying for work, finding housing or registering your children on the waiting list for preschool, it is important to have digital skills. Everyone who wants to be included and take advantage of the opportunities offered by digitalization should be able to do so. Accordingly, we must develop user-friendly services and provide support for people in the form of training courses and mentoring. The Digidel campaign features fantastic initiatives, which is why the government is supporting Get Online Week,” says IT and Energy Minister, Anna-Karin Hatt.

In Sweden, 111 different organizations are contributing various activities, including training courses, mentoring and lectures aimed at increasing knowledge about the Internet for “business and pleasure.” The Get Online Week campaign is supported by the government and .SE (The Internet Infrastructure Foundation). In Sweden, the Digidel campaign functions as the national coordinator for Get Online Week.

“There are currently 1.2 million Swedes who are not online and must thus expect higher costs and a considerable amount of complications. Other information channels are becoming increasingly inaccessible. How many physical travel agencies, for example, have shut down in recent years – and when was the last phonebook printed? But digital inclusion is primarily a matter of democracy. Those who want to help influence societal developments have a limited ability to do so nowadays without being online. Digidel wants more voices to be heard in the debate and with Get Online Week, we hope to encourage many people to make the leap to the Internet,” says Digidel’s Administrative Director, Christine Cars-Ingels.

Every day, the library in Alby receives visitors who need help obtaining necessary community information. Young people from Alby’s recreational center and members of SeniorNet offer guidance at the library. Ahmad Azizi, a public liaison from Botkyrka, is pleased about the municipality’s cross-border work.

“As part of the national Digidel 2013 campaign, the local campaign, Digidel Botkyrka, has succeeded in achieving strong and broad partnerships between the municipality and other organizations in the civil society. Digidel Botkyrka has not only succeeded in reaching the elderly, but also helps other age groups in need of knowledge in how to use the Internet,” says Ahmad Azizi, a public liaison from Botkyrka Municipality.

During Get Online Week, 111 players throughout Sweden will organize a number of activities to promote the use of the Internet.

Notes for the Editor

About Get Online Week
Get Online Week 2013 is a digital inclusion campaign held during the week of March 18-24 throughout Europe with the aim of encouraging more members of the public to use the Internet and thus strengthen citizens across Europe. This year, there is a particular focus on youth and working life. The principal organizer is Telecentre-Europe AISBL, an organization that connects networks in a bid to increase digital inclusion throughout Europe. Get Online Week is supported by the European Commission and a host of international organizations. In Sweden, 111 different organizations are contributing activities this year throughout the country. More information about Get Online Week is provided on Telecentre-Europe’s campaign website. Information about Get Online Week in Sweden can be found here.

Press contact, Digidel Campaign
Ellen Pettersson, ellen.pettersson@iis.se
+46 702 440733

Project Manager, Get Online Week
Contact Project Manager, Linda Sandberg, to get in touch with local contributions during Get Online Week
linda.sandberg@iis.se
+46 70 573 97 37

Digidel
The Digidel campaign promotes greater digital inclusion in Sweden. We want everyone to have the courage, drive and ability to take advantage of society’s digital services.

By pooling resources, the campaign aims to encourage at least 500.000 Swedes to begin using the Internet before the end of 2013. We also want to help those who are already online to improve at taking advantage of the opportunities available on the Internet to facilitate everyday life, actively contribute to societal developments, receive better medical and healthcare, to enjoy more employment opportunities and a better education.

Digidel’s office is located at .SE (The Internet Infrastructure Foundation) on Ringvägen 100 in Stockholm.

.SE (The Internet Infrastructure Foundation) is one of the principal financiers of the Digidel 2013 campaign and contributes digital inclusion initiatives in the form of the Digidel website, www.digidel.se, by providing Digidel’s with offices and by provisioning funds from the Internet Fund for groundbreaking digital inclusion projects.