While digital tools significantly increase the most adept users’ productivity and comfort when it comes to online administrative procedures, remote working or e-commerce, they are also a hindrance for the most vulnerable people in society.
Job seekers, young people, women, people with disabilities, the elderly, etc. Many people in Brussels are confronted daily with difficulties in using digital tools and therefore feel excluded from this virtual world.
Before the lockdown, there was already an obvious trend towards digitalisation, but the pandemic has revealed how urgent it is to provide more digital support to the most vulnerable members of society.
Today, it is estimated that 40% of the population – more than 300,000 Brussels citizens (between 16 and 74) – are digitally vulnerable.
To increase the digital skills of these citizens, the Brussels Region is launching a call for projects worth €390,000 in partnership with the King Baudouin Foundation and the Digital Inclusion Coordination. The proposed projects must address one of the three priority areas identified: accessibility of digital tools, training from a very young age and supporting society towards a digital transformation that is accessible to all.
The projects must be practical, directly achievable, and pay particular attention to those people who are excluded from the digital world. A minimum of 50% must be devoted to training or support for the public, and a maximum of 50% of the financial support may be devoted to the cost of computer equipment.
Applications must be submitted to the King Baudouin Foundation by 1 April 2021 at the latest. The results of the selection will be announced in June.
For more information, please visit the
King Baudouin Foundation website
image King Baudoin Foundation
