The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations coordinates policy for digital inclusion. Various government departments and organisations collaborate with the ministry on this challenge. Here are the key developments in digital inclusion policy:
Improving Digital Skills and Knowledge
The government is investing in citizens’ skills and self-reliance, ensuring more people can keep pace with new digital opportunities. Several partnerships and programmes support this goal:
- Alliance for Digital Inclusion: The government, civil society organisations, businesses, and experts by experience are joining forces through the Alliantie Digitaal Samenleven (Digital Society Alliance, Dutch-language website) to promote digital inclusion.
- Count on Skills: The interdepartmental programme Count on Skills (led by the Ministries of Education, Culture and Science; Social Affairs and Employment; Health, Welfare and Sport; and the Interior) focuses on adults’ basic skills: literacy, numeracy, and digital skills. Local councils receive funding to offer courses in libraries, community centres, and further education colleges.
- Welcome Online: The Welcome Online (Dutch) learning programme, a collaboration between the National Older Persons Fund, Vodafone, Ziggo, ASML, and the Ministry of the Interior, helps digital beginners navigate the internet.
- DigiHandig (DigiHandy) App: The DigiHandig app (in Dutch, Papiamentu, French and Spanish) helps people learn new apps and use mobile phones safely at their own pace, in partnership with the Ministry of the Interior.
- Digital Citizenship: The Digital Citizenship (Dutch) programme, run by the National Library, empowers libraries to help people become active, skilled, and resilient in the online information society.
- DigiQ: The DigiQ (Dutch) online tool, developed by the University of Amsterdam with support from the Ministry of the Interior, allows citizens to test their digital knowledge and skills and receive personalised advice and links to courses, videos, and articles.
- DigiHelp Line (Dutch): The DigiHelp Line (0800-1508) is a free helpline for anyone struggling with digital issues, also offering support via WhatsApp and email. The National Older Persons Fund, SeniorWeb, the National Library, and the Alliance for Digital Inclusion run it.
Other Developments and Interventions
Beyond digital inclusion, there are further initiatives:
- 21st Century Skills Self-Assessment (Dutch): An online tool for civil servants to assess their modern skills.
- Allemaal Digitaal Foundation (Dutch): Collects, refurbishes, and donates decommissioned business laptops and tablets to community organisations, providing access to the digital society.
- Digital Economy Strategy: The government is strengthening workforce digital skills through the Human Capital Agenda, learning communities within the Dutch AI Coalition, the Smart Makers Academy (Smart Industry programme), and SME workshops (Accelerating SME Digitalisation programme).
- Digital Government Information Points (IDO) (Dutch): Offer low-threshold, free, and accessible support for questions about using digital public services, such as those from local councils, UWV, and the Tax Authority. These points are mainly located in local libraries and community centres, with queries processed in an interactive dashboard.
Digital Accessibility
A good government should be easy for everyone to reach. That’s why digital services must be accessible, user-friendly, and easy to understand.
The DigiAccessible Expertise Centre (Dutch) encourages public authorities to make their websites and apps accessible, providing advice and insights on compliance with legal requirements. However, not all websites and apps currently meet these standards.
Government organisations need to keep up with innovations and apply them. This includes initiatives such as:
- The NL Design System (Dutch, hosted by ICTU) shares principles, interaction patterns, and code among government organisations to create a unified design system.
- Developments around PDF accessibility via NLdoc.
- Involving experts by experience in designing websites and apps.
Oversight
Ensuring compliance with digital accessibility laws is crucial for enabling everyone, including those with visual, auditory, or other disabilities, to participate and interact with government services.
Oversight plays a crucial role in this process, and its framework is currently being developed:
- The DigiAccessible Dashboard (Dutch) provides insight into the accessibility of government websites and apps, helping organisations and regulators monitor progress.
- The dashboard is a tool for government bodies to assess the accessibility of their digital communications, with an overview of responsible websites and apps, and a snapshot of their accessibility status.
- Towards a Complete and Up-to-Date Dashboard: It is essential that the dashboard include all current government websites and mobile apps. Currently, it displays those with an accessibility statement (Dutch). DigiAccessible is working to include those without a statement to ensure a comprehensive overview.
