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PRZOOM - /newswire/ -
Brussels, Belgium, 2010/09/28 - 5,000,000 people to have a chance to be skilled through ECDL Foundation Support of EC Digital agenda.
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In an open letter to the President of the European Commission, ECDL Foundation has specified its commitment to a number of high-level targets to advance the implementation of the Digital Agenda for Europe. The Digital Agenda is a timely and necessary initiative designed to promote economic recovery, and to improve social circumstances through the creation of a more competitive, inclusive, and digitally streamlined Europe.
As the Digital Agenda rightly identifies, improved digital literacy and ICT skills’ development will have a critical role to play in the drive to: invigorate the European economy, nurture an innovative workforce, and to minimise the digital divide, and they will be integral to the success of the policy of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.
As the leading international digital skills certification authority, ECDL Foundation and its pan-European network of national operators have affirmed their commitment to the goals of the Digital Agenda, and have pledged to support its implementation. Specifically, they have committed to:
- Engage with 5,000,000 citizens to ensure they have the opportunity to acquire digital skills and competence;
- Decrease by 3% the current number of 150 million people who do not have the skills to use the Internet, and promote the use of e-government services and the benefits of e-commerce to these future e-citizens;
- Promote digital skills development programmes in all levels of education throughout Europe to enhance and modernise education systems while providing today’s youth with the skills necessary for mobility in tomorrow’s labour market;
- Take special measures to ensure that marginalised groups such as the unemployed, older people, people with disabilities, and those in remote locations are empowered to participate in the Information Society;
- Work with Member States in the development of long-term digital literacy policies, using certification as a measureable outcome in the return on investment in digital skills programmes, and ensuring that ICT skills are incorporated in national education policies.
ECDL Foundation (ecdl.org) has launched a comprehensive campaign designed to raise the profile of the Digital Agenda, and pledges its considerable expertise and that of its extensive network of pan-European operators in ensuring the successful implementation of the above goals which support the Digital Agenda.
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conor.brownlee[.]ecdl.org 
