Just a few days after the seventh edition of the European Get Online Week, the campaign has been featured by an independent research and policy institution Brookings from the U.S. In his article Stuart N. Brotman argues that the U.S. should follow Europe’s lead to create their American Get Online Week.

A piece titled Why the U.S. needs its own Get Online Week presents the success of this year’s campaign in some European countries and calls on paying more attention to digital issues in the U.S.

Given the common set of digital use issues on both sides of the Atlantic, the U.S. has much to learn from what is now an extensive track record of success for Get Online Week, says Stuart N. Brotman.

The author thinks that the campaign model which promotes public-private partnerships should be adapted by states and metropolitan areas in his home country. Stuart N. Brotman points out that today when we speak about digital gap, we speak about the gap in digital literacy, skills, and trust. Hence, it is crucial to start local conversations about the possibilities of the Internet and tech, but also cyber threats. An initiative such as the Get Online Week could be the occasion and the means to do that.

—

Why the U.S. needs its own Get Online Week by Stuart N. Brotman, on 31 May. Published in Brookings under TechTank, a section that focuses on new developments in science and technology policy and how they affect health care, education, economic development, innovation, and governance.