Taking Action
You’ve listened, learned, and reflected upon digital divides in a global society. Now it’s time to take action. Below are three interactive Side Quests to help you go deeper into the issues. The section “Tools You Can Use” provides you with pro tips to help organize and advocate in your context.
Side Quests
Advocating for digital Justice requires strong networks and collaborations. Below you will find three examples of organizations working on digital divides in a global society. Each has a different approach and works in different contexts. You can learn advocacy strategies from them and discover who is working on issues of common concern.
Good Practices Database
The Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) is a global coalition that works to make broadband access affordable for all, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. It advocates for policy changes to lower the cost of internet access by engaging governments, the private sector, and civil society. A4AI focuses on research, policy guidance, and capacity building to reduce the global digital divide.
A4AI maintain a comprehensive, searchable database on good practices for advocacy, organized by country, stakeholder, and policy area.
100 Days, 100 Languages
With the dominance of English in global communications, this campaign aims to raise awareness of the diversity of language and the cultures they represent, and it asks us all to commit to protect our languages.
The challenge involves translating Principles to promote communication for social justice in a digital age, a 374-word document from the manifesto of the international symposium, “Communication for Social Justice in a Digital Age,” organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) and held in September 2021.
The Digital Gender Divide
Nine out of ten adolescent girls and young women in low-income countries are offline. Even in the same homes, they have less access and fewer skills compared to their male counterparts.
Gender bias limits digital inclusion for girls, making other inequalities in education and employment worse.
This report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) outlines the urgent action needed by governments, the private sector, and international organizations to bridge this digital gender divide.
Tools You Can Use
Here are some advocacy tools and training opportunities that you can adapt for your context or use to strengthen your own skills relating to digital divides in a global society.
Learning @ Internet Society
The Internet Society’s Learning platform offers a variety of free courses designed to enhance knowledge and skills related to internet governance, online safety, network operations, and internet security. Courses are available in self-paced, online, and face-to-face formats. Some options include internet policy and advocacy, online safety, and how to develop an internet impact brief. (Source: The Internet Society, a global non-profit organization focused on ensuring an open, secure, and reliable internet for all.)
Unveiling Accessibility: Bridging the Digital Divide
This video highlights the importance of accessibility in creating an inclusive digital world. It introduces the POUR principles—Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust—as guidelines for advocates to push for accessible design. You can pick up some practical tips about digital accessibility, like enabling keyboard navigation and offering multimedia alternatives. Accessibility is, of course a justice issue, but it is also a strategic advantage that allows more people to participate fully in economic spaces. (Source: Sam Richardson Animations.)
National Digital Inclusion Alliance: Digital Inclusion Trailblazers
This toolkit is a vast resource of data on everything relating to our digital world. It is designed to help countries assess their digital development across a range of indicators. Sustainability, especially as outlined by the SDGs, is embedded throughout with data on e-waste and air pollution alongside gender and labour markers. You can use it to see how your country stacks up against others and play with the “Data Kitchen” to visualize the links between digitalization and ecological justice. The organization is based in the United States, but the tools can be adapted for use in different contexts. (Source: The National Digital Inclusion Alliance, which connects people and organizations at the grassroots level to help make policy and laws that support digital inclusion.
Congratulations
Congratulations! You’ve reached the last step of the session on Digital Divides in a Global Society. Your dedication has paid off, and you now have the tools and knowledge to take steps to overcome digital divides in your context. Don’t forget to share your progress online and encourage your friends to join you in this digital justice journey.
Next up is a session on digital public spaces. Here we will explore what digital public spaces are, why they’re important, and how you can help make them safe for everyone online. Click the button below to finish this session.