GOW 2016 LAUNCH IN AMSTERDAM
An official launch event was held in Amsterdam on 4 March to mark the start of the seventh European Get Online Week . Invited guest speakers from the European Commission and the industry shared their views on the progress and solutions to empower Europeans with digital skills . the ways how to make it exciting for young people to get involved and upscale and upskill their digital knowledge .’ R . Sharon continued : ‘ For us it starts with skills as this is the foundation but it doesn ’ t end there . We give entrepreneurs the ability , the know-how , the platform to use those digital skills to address societal issues .’
‘ It is surprising that in 2016 still 100 million Europeans have no or very limited digital skills ,’ said Alexander Riedl ( Deputy Head of Unit , DG Connect , European Commission ) via Skype . ‘ Therefore Telecentre Europe has been a long-standing partner . <…> This year the Commission will present a new Skills Agenda and digital skills will be an important part of its plan .’
A . Riedl also encouraged stakeholders to take action on the local level : ‘ This is why Get Online Week is so important because this campaign achieves it . So every telecentre , every public library , every school , every co-working space should become a learning space for digital skills .’
This year ’ s campaign supporters Liberty Global and Cisco talked about why digital skills and inclusion is so important for the ICT industry . Piotr Pluta , Cisco Director Corporate Affairs EMEA , emphasized the new collaboration through Networking Academy ( www . netacad . com ) that will allow Telecentre partners to offer online learning courses on basic IT skills .
‘ Telecentre Europe is excited to launch this year ’ s GOW in Amsterdam , a smart-city known for its technology , innovation and high-quality education . A smart Europe generates new digital jobs and services , but we have to make sure no one is left behind and opportunities are equal for all . We run GOW to promote digital skills for jobs and inclusion , building people ’ s trust and confidence in using technology and the internet ,’ said former Managing Director Gabriel Rissola .
The Digital Champion of the Netherlands Tineke Netelenbos talked about activities in the country within the context of GOW . ‘ What we see is that people think they are digitally skilled . But at the end of the day they don ’ t have all the skills they need ,’ concluded Tineke Netelenbos .
Photos of the event are available on Telecentre Europe ’ s Flickr account .
Roy Sharon , Director CSR Liberty Global , presented how digital imagination could be the new approach to engage people in learning digital skills but also contributing with their knowledge to collective solutions and making social impact . ‘ We also look at
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