Malaysia Advertising Innovation
Agensi Inovasi Malaysia (AIM) was created to jump start wealth creation through knowledge, technology and innovation to stimulate and develop the innovation eco-system in Malaysia. We lay down the foundation of innovation that inspire and produce a new generation of innovative entrepreneurs. We facilitate collaborations between government, academia and industry in advancing the consolidation and execution of new ideas in innovation.
Thriving in Digital Inclusion
I once read or heard someone say that in order to thrive in today’s fast accelerating knowledge and information society, we can no longer merely depend on the digital devices we hold in our hands (or place on our laps), and should rely more on the relationships that we build with each other via these devices.
This got me thinking that perhaps relationship-building is the key to achieve, or at least to push along, the very broad agenda of digital inclusion that is still rarely explicitly defined even at this juncture of the digital economy.
The digital inclusion mission statement to ensure that “no one is left behind” from participating and benefiting from the digital economy sounds like a vow we would make in a committed relationship.
Indeed, only a committed relationship can ensure individuals and disadvantaged sections of the society will have access to, and be reasonably skilled to use, Information and Communication Technologies devices, applications and services.
Digital inclusion has become the social inclusion clause for the 21st century, and the level of digital skills, connectivity and accessibility for all (with no one left behind) will be our challenge to realise against a rising scenario of the ubiquity of digital economy under the fourth Industrial Revolution.
Looking at the current situation in more detail, we can see that ‘digital exclusion’ still has some hold on our society. Connectivity and access to the internet is improving all the time in our country, especially with a Government that puts this agenda as one of its top priority, but that is only the start.
We are looking at some significant and wide ranging challenges that includes building of skills to enable productive use of the internet; motivation to understand the reasons why using the internet is a good thing and actually achieving positive use of this infrastructure; and issues of trust among the general public that requires reassurance against the risk of crime, or actually knowing where to start to go online productively.
Only relationship-building, between the digital haves and have-nots, can enable us to thrive in today’s fast accelerating knowledge and information society, where we can no longer merely depend on digital devices.
We have to be innovative in our 21st century relationships specifically for initiatives that will enable someone to have the access, skills, motivation and trust to go online to do things that benefit them day to day. Only then will we be able to thrive in digital inclusion.