From digital divide to digital inclusion: towards a sustainable support of e-inclusion initiatives in Flanders

ILSE MARIEN & CHRIS VLEUGELS From digital divide to digital inclusion: towards a sustainable support of e-inclusion initiatives in Flanders Throughout the last decade it has become clear that the digital divide needs to be considered as a complex phenomenon covering a wide range of exclusion mechanisms at the level of access, usage and multiple digital literacy's. Simultaneously, a vast number of e-inclusion initiatives have emerged trying to address these problems of exclusion. Hence, a highly scattered, disorganized and unidentified field of approaches to the implementation of e-inclusion has surfaced, leaving policy stakeholders unaware of the scope, effectiveness and sustainability of these approaches and initiatives. Therefore, a study was launched in Flanders in order to (I) gain a comprehensive insight in existing initiatives and their modus operandi, and (2) generate policy recommendations related to identify gaps and lacking synergies. In this article we present the results of this study consisting of a quantitative inventory of Flemish e-inclusion initiatives, and a qualitative brainstorm session with various stakeholders.