Public Access: Supporting digital inclusion for all

1. Public Access: Supporting digital inclusion for all Addis Ababa, September 2015 Emilar Vushe Gandhi

2. What is public access? • Facilities that allow any member of the public to make affordable use of computers with broadband connections, ICT tools and technical support • Locating public access services in existing institutions situated in the community, such as libraries and post offices, is often a particularly effective method of deploying public access

3. Access to information a key development issue • Access to information and communications supports development by empowering people, especially more remote and marginalised communities and those living in poverty • Better exercise their political and socio-economic rights • Become more economically productive • Learn, apply new skills and find better jobs, livelihood • Participate in decision making

5. But inequalities in access limit the effectiveness of ICTs in addressing social needs • The social, political and economic potential of the internet can only be realised by people who have access to it • Not everyone is fully connected and those who are “connected” often suffer from poor-quality and high-cost • Lack of physical infrastructure is the primary barrier faced by governments and citizens on the wrong side of the digital divide • Quality and speed of internet access affect types of information access • Gender divide – a new dimension men access PCs at work while women use mobile phones • Content divide - Access to relevant content

6. Public access is a core component of strategies for reducing the digital divide • Broad-based ecosystem approach is needed to address the digital divide • There are a number of interrelated elements; supply and demand, infrastructure, access facilities, policy and regulation,applications, content, capacity-building, digital literacy, funding sources and mechanisms. • Support for public access needs to be made a more explicit part of this ecosystem. • People who are online also need public access • The next billion will come online with their own devices AND should have public access

7. Action points for policy makers • Build awareness and information sharing - on the importance on public access, how to implement and sustain public access facilities, best practice • Improve the enabling environment – a conducive policy and regulatory environment which ensures competitive, pervasive and reliable provision of internet services. • Implement use of universal access funds and other public policy instruments to support public access • Address human resource deficiencies - prioritise training and re-skilling of library and information professionals • Invest in locally relevant applications and service development, particularly e-government services

8. Ndatenda. Ngiyabonga • Emilar Vushe Gandhi • Africa Policy Coordinator • Association for Progressive Communications (APC) • emilar@apc.org • www.apc.org