UK's digital divide getting worse: The UK's digital divide is deepening, with those who are socially excluded most at risk of digital exclusion. A new study from research firm FreshMinds and the UK online centres -- an organisation that works to provide ICT access to all members of society -- found that 75 percent of people it counts as socially excluded are also on the wrong side of the digital divide. Helen Milner, managing director of UK online centres, said the term 'digital divide' is one that "we've been bandying about for a while, but it's more relevant and more urgent today than at any time in the last 10 years." She added that "technology is opening new doors and new worlds for 61 percent of the population, connecting them to better paid jobs, instant information, new forms of communication and social interaction, community infrastructures, government services, consumer power and convenience. But for a stable 39 percent, those benefits remain firmly out of reach." Milner appealed to MPs and policy-makers to "take ownership of digital inclusion".
Kenya invests in ICT project: The Kenyan government has launched a KES7.8 billion (around EUR85 million) initiative aimed at improving the country's ICT infrastructure and accelerating the rollout of e-government services, reports Kenyan newspaper The Standard. With funding from the World Bank, the Kenya Transparency and Communication Infrastructure Project (KTCIP) plans to address digital divide issues, as well as make government processes more efficient and transparent, over a three-year period commencing in July 2007. Part of the project's budget has been allocated to bumping up broadband and telecoms connectivity for government staff, universities and rural-dwelling citizens. Some KES2.4 billion has been set aside to support e-government initiatives, including the digitisation of processes such as pensions administration, driver's licence registration and company registration, along with the development of SMS services and Interactive Voice Recognition (IVR) technologies.
Belgium launches online crime service: Belgian citizens can now report crimes to the police online, according to the European Commission's eGovernment Observatory. Citizens who use the Police-on-Web service can file reports about bicycle theft, shoplifting, vandalism and graffiti -- provided the crimes are not violent or posing an immediate threat. Site users need to have an electronic identity card, available from the country's national portal, before they can log a complaint. Users are then asked to fill in a form with all the necessary information and are given a reference number so they can follow up on police progress on the matter. The police said the service would help them to register complaints faster and to tackle these frequently reported crimes more efficiently. Violent or dangerous crimes that require an immediate response should be reported in the usual way, the police noted.
Bahrain bets on portal to cut costs: Bahrain expects its new e-government portal to help it cut expenses by up to 90 percent, according to a government official. "Bahrain is a small country and we do not have mass production, but we are talking of savings of 90 percent to 95 percent on overhead costs," Mohammed Al Qaed, spokesman for e-Government Services, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur. Al Qaed said the portal is expected to streamline business within government ministries and agencies and noted that since its launch last month, payment for government services via the internet has grown by 280 percent. The portal, www.e.gov.bh, currently offers 167 online services to citizens, and there are plans to extend electronic payment facilities to a number of municipal, court and customs services. In addition, the government has now enabled site users to pay for services with a debit card; until recently, only credit card holders could avail of the portal's e-payments service.
New Zealand talks about XML framework: The New Zealand government has invited software experts to an open forum to discuss the State Services Commission's proposed XML governance framework, reports M-Net. XML (Extensible Markup Language) enables data to be shared across different systems, especially over the internet, and is key to New Zealand's e-Government Interoperability Framework (NZ e-GIF). This framework aims to improve how government agencies work together electronically and make it easier for citizens to deal with the Government online by encouraging a consistent approach. The forum, scheduled to take place on 25 July, will promote free discussion between the Commission, industry players and software integration professionals on the proposed XML framework, and there will be no commercial advantage for any of the participants, the Commission said.
Autor(en)/Author(s): Sylvia Leatham
Quelle/Source: ElectricNews, 05.07.2007
