Public service Federal government founds alliance for digital inclusion

With the launch of the Swiss Digital Inclusion Alliance on Thursday, the federal government wants to make it easier for people in Switzerland to access digital services. Around a third of the Swiss population have only basic digital skills.

This puts those affected at a disadvantage in the digital world, the General Secretariat of the Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA) announced on Thursday. Especially if digital services are not sufficiently easily accessible or are too complicated, this leads to the exclusion of a large part of the population.

According to the federal government, this particularly affects older people and people with disabilities. Technical hurdles such as a lack of internet accessibility could also be a reason for difficult access to digital services. The success of digitalization also depends on acceptance in society. Accessibility plays a major role in this, the report continued.

As a new competence center, the Alliance for Digital Inclusion Switzerland (Adis) networks the relevant players in the field of digital inclusion and creates the basis for uniting the various commitments in a joint strategy. Adis was initiated as part of the Disability Policy 2023-2026 priority program by the Federal Office for the Equality of Persons with Disabilities (FOGE), among others.

According to the press release, Interior Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider emphasized the importance of close cooperation between the authorities, civil society, education and research as well as the private sector in this area.

SDA