An increasing number of European countries is implementing online civic and commercial services to enable easier, cheaper and faster administrative operations for citizens. The future trend is obvious: the demand of such services will increase significantly and so will the implementation by governments and businesses. Even though e-Government and e-Commerce offer a myriad of benefits, taking advantage of such services requires a certain amount of digital skills and know-how, which disadvantaged groups of people often lack. The objective of My e-Start is to equip disadvantaged groups of people with skills necessary for using the most common e-Government and e-Commerce services in their countries and ensuring a positive (first) e-experience as well as a sense of digital achievement. My e-Start is focusing on a group, which is particularly vulnerable to digital exclusion, namely the elderly, those with low levels of education and training and those with a migration background. The main output of the project is the development of an extremely simple online course and a user-friendly e-platform adapted to specific needs of the target group. Both the online course and the e-platform will put a particular emphasis on the use of ‘easy language’, simple instructions, clear visual elements and well-structured content to avoid confusion and overstress of the target group. The aim of the online course is to provide disadvantaged groups of people with very basic knowledge about common e-Government and e-Commerce services in their countries (e.g. e-banking, tax declaration, e-card) and how to use them. To ensure an implementation of the course in different contexts and environments, My e-Start will design and develop a comprehensive manual for adult educators and/or training providers working with the target group and intending to implement the online course into their curricula. The explicit aim of My e-Start is to contribute to digital inclusion of disadvantaged groups of people and address the increasing digital gap by designing, developing and promoting sustainable and tailored products, which are widely applicable and highly impactful. The project consortium consists of experts, who have vast experience in areas including adult education, digital competence and the inclusion of disadvantaged groups. During the whole duration of the project and beyond, partners will ensure an extensive dissemination and valorisation of the project through established national and international networks of key stakeholders to guarantee high visibility and a widespread effect.
Tronbacke (1997) emphasises that having access to comprehensible information is part of basic democratic rights. Therefore, all citizens should easily understand how to access, use and benefit from digital services, such as e-Government and e-Commerce systems. My e-Start focused on a target group particularly vulnerable to digital exclusion, namely the elderly, disadvantaged individuals with low education and training levels and people with a migration background. Hence, My e-Start aimed at creating outcomes, which meets the needs of the target group and thus contribute to the digital inclusion of disadvantaged groups. The key to narrowing the digital gap lies in education and training. Therefore, My e-Start aimed to help digitally disadvantaged groups in a) acquiring/further developing digital skills in the context of e-service usage, such as e-Government and e-Commerce and b) understanding the importance, benefits and possibilities of using such services on an everyday basis. In a nutshell, the main aim of My e-Start was to support disadvantaged groups in obtaining basic digital skills necessary for using e-Government and e-Commerce systems and provide them with a positive (first) e-experience and a sense of digital achievement.
The use of information and communication technologies (ICT’s) in public services is continually progressing (e-Government Benchmark by the EC 2019). E-services, such as e-Government and e-Commerce save time and provide significant benefits for citizens, governments and businesses alike, be it considerable savings, greater transparency or generally more convenience. Nowadays, many European countries offer a wide range of administrative operations online. The increasing trend of internet usage in all aspects of social life does not automatically lead to a decrease of digital inequality. Mutsvairo & Ragnedda (2018) argue that the continually expanding access to the internet leads to an even bigger digital gap among citizens. Disadvantaged groups of people are in particular suffering under the growing gap. People are expected to adjust to these new approaches on their own, which can cause complications especially among disadvantaged individuals, who tend to have lower ICT skills. It is therefore crucial to provide specifically designed support for the disadvantaged and help them in acquiring relevant skills necessary for using e-services.