About the Awards
THE AWARDS ARE NOW CLOSED
Why is e-inclusion important?
As an information society, Europe is successful. ICT and digital technology plays an increasingly important role in all of our lives – both at work and play. However, for 200 million people outside of the information society, whether that is due to low levels of education or income, disability, cultural differences, being older, living in a rural area or any combination of these, they are increasingly missing out socially and economically on the benefits that technology is providing for society. Estimates of the economic benefit of a more digitally inclusive society in Europe are between €35 - €85 billion over five years. Creating an e-included society is an economic opportunity and social necessity.
The European Commission has established the e-Inclusion Awards to raise awareness, encourage participation and recognise excellence and good practice in using ICT and digital technology to tackle social and digital exclusion across Europe.
Why did we establish the Awards?
We want as many examples as possible of how ICT and digital technology can be used to tackle social disadvantage and digital exclusion. The best are currently being used to inspire and encourage other organisations and individuals to take part in e-inclusion initiatives.
Who entered?
All Award categories were open to organisations from Europe* from the following sectors: government and public, business and private, non-governmental and voluntary. 469 organisations entered in total
What were the judging criteria?
Each Award category was judged according to seven criteria: Impact, Innovation, Usability, Partnerships, Sharing, Sustainability and the WOW factor. Five finalists per Award category were selected and an announcement made on 9 October 2008.
What was the Award?
The finalists for each category were invited to exhibit their project at the Ministerial Conference on e-Inclusion in Vienna on 1 December 2008. The 35 finalists were presented with a medal for their achievements. 7 Award winners (one for each category) were announced during the evening ceremony and dinner.
*Austria, Belgium. Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom