Digital Agenda

The main objectives of the assembly are to assess progress, identify challenges and mobilise stakeholder's actions in the Digital Agenda 2010-2020.

elearningeuropa.info portal will participate in Workshop 08: Mainstreaming eLearning in education and training and Workshop 20: Digital literacy and e-Inclusion.

Please note that the Digital Agenda Assembly and its workshops are fully booked.

The elearningeuropa.info portal will open a Community on the topic of ICT and Education across Europe in order to take up the outcomes of Workshop 08, and to continue the discussions about this topic with portal members.

View full programme

In line with its commitment to an open data strategy the European Commission has made its data sets and statistics in the Scoreboard publicly available online enabling anyone to carry out their own analysis and come to their own conclusions.

Overall progress over the first year of the Digital Agenda has been good, especially on the use of Internet (65% of EU population). But progress in some areas is disappointing, in particular roll-out of new super fast Broadband networks, which is one of the key Digital Agenda goals, even if there is some progress in upgrading existing cable and copper networks.

Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the European Commission for the Digital Agenda said: "A year after the launch of the Digital Agenda I note progress. However, Member States, industry, civil society and the Commission need to do more if we want to maximise the Agenda's potential for retaining Europe's competitiveness, stimulating innovation, and creating jobs and prosperity. I call on everybody to consider the massive long term benefit of acting decisively now, especially in high speed broadband."

The Digital Agenda committed the EU to carry out 101 specific actions (78 for the Commission, of which 31 are legal proposals, and 23 for Member States) which will together boost investment in, and use of, digital technologies. Overall, 11 DAE actions have been completed, 6 actions due in 2010 are delayed and the remaining actions are largely on track.

On the 13 key performance targets (see MEMO/10/200):

• Good progress on regular Internet use, online shopping, eGovernment and low energy lighting

• Mixed progress in broadband availability and take up

• Insufficient progress in cross-border eCommerce, online presence of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), roaming prices and public research.

The implications of the scoreboard will be discussed in Brussels on June 16-17 at the Digital Agenda Assembly.

The Scoreboard shows good progress in:

• Regular Internet use. This has risen rapidly to 65% of the EU population (target 75% by 2015). Disadvantaged groups like the less well-educated and the elderly are also using the Internet more, up from 42% to 48%. This brings within reach of the 2015 goal of 60%.Non-users have fallen from 30% to 26% of the population.

• Online shopping. 40% of EU citizens now shop online, including 57% of all Internet users. More than half of the population in 8 EU countries buys online.

• eGovernment: 41% of citizens use eGovernment services, half of whom have return completed forms online. The eGovernment Action Plan (IP/10/1718) should help realise the 2015 target of use of eGovernment services by 50 % of citizens and 80% of businesses.

• Promotion of low energy lighting: Solid State Lighting increased its market share to 6.2% in 2010 (up from 1.7% in 2009), making good progress to reducing the energy use of lighting by 20% by 2020.

Mixed progress in:

• Broadband availability and take up: Basic broadband is increasingly available even in remote areas. However, deployment and uptake of very high-speed broadband is currently concentrated in only a few (mostly urban) areas. The Commission is working with Member States to implement the strategy to give every European access to basic broadband by 2013 and fast and ultra fast broadband by 2020 (IP/10/1142).

Insufficient progress in:

• Cross-border eCommerce: barely growing, from 8.1-8.8% in 2010. The Digital Agenda target is 20% of citizens shopping online across borders by 2015. The Commission intends to address this and other barriers to the development of the Digital Single Market in a forthcoming Communication on the eCommerce Directive

• Online presence of Small and Medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): 26% of SMEs purchase online, a rising share, but only 13% of SMEs sell online, (up 2 points on last year)

• Roaming prices: they fell by 1.5 € cents in 2010, but are still more than three times as expensive as domestic calls. The Digital Agenda's aim is for thedifference between national and roamed calls within the EU to approach zero by 2015.

• Public investment in ICT R&D: expenditure by public authorities did not exceed the € 5.7 billion baseline of the previous year. A 6% annual growth will be needed to reach the target of doubling to € 11 billion by 2020.

Is the Commission on target?

Overall, progress on implementing the 101 Digital Agenda actions has been quite good. Almost 10% of the actions have been completed, 80% are on track and the remaining 10% are delayed.

Background

The Scoreboard covers the period May 2010 to May 2011. It is accompanied by a series of online reports on specific aspects of the Digital Agenda, such as eGovernment or online trust and security. The Scoreboard incorporates data and analysis previously found in the Commission's annual Progress Report on the Single European Electronic Communications (IP/10/602).

For more information

MEMO/11/361

Scoreboard website:

http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/digital-agenda/scoreboard/index_en.htm

A profile of each EU Member State, with details of broadband, internet use, eGovernment and telecoms regulatory trends, is available on the Digital Agenda website:

http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/digital-agenda/scoreboard/countries/index_en.htm

Digital Agenda website:

http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/digital-agenda/index_en.htm

The expected outcome is a set of priorities and actions encouraging Member States to innovate in their education and training through adopting and integrating e-Learning into teaching and training. It should also include recommendations to the Commission on how to support the Member States in this endeavour. This workshop will represent the "kick-off" of the Digital Agenda action 68.

Profiles of participants:

Member States' representatives (education and training), eLearning industry representatives (solutions providers, publishers, etc.); association of teachers and parents, researchers, as well as representatives of international associations and experts promoting the use of eLearning.

Draft Workshop programme:

DAY 1, THURSDAY 16.6.2011

10:00 – 13:30

Opening/Closing statements:

• Khalil ROUHANA, EC Director INFSO/E - Digital Content and Cognitive Systems

• Pierre MAIRESSE, EC Director EAC/A - Lifelong Learning: Horizontal Policy Issues and 2020 Strategy

10h15 Keynote – ICT in modernisation of education and training across Europe

• Markku MARKKULA, Member of the EU Committee of Regions (CoR Rapporteur on Digital Agenda & on the Role of Regions in Achieving the Objectives of EU 2020)

10h30 Thematic Panel: Lessons learnt

Discussing and showcasing successful eLearning policies and tools

• Marc DURANDO, European Schoolnet

• Saverio SALERNO, Research Centre in Pure and Applied Mathematics / University of Salerno

• Richard STRAUB, eLIG eLearning Industry Group

• Oscar VALIENTE, Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, OECD

• Etelberto COSTA, Portuguese Association for Human Resources Managers

11h30 Open discussion on lessons learnt and first conclusions

• Facilitated by Sally REYNOLDS, Managing Director ATiT

• Rapporteurs: Tapio KOSKINEN (Aalto University) / Yves PUNIE (IPTS)

12h00 Thematic Panel: Drivers and opportunities

Discussing drivers, opportunities and expectations.

• Hans LAUGESEN, European Trade Unions Committee for Education (ETUCE)

• Johannes THEINER, European Parents' Association (EPA)

• Georges VAN STEENE, Vice-President of the European Civil Society Platform on Lifelong Learning (EUCIS-LLL) and President of European Training and Development Federation (EDTF)

• Lara WIDMER, The Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions (OBESSU)

12:40 Open discussion on the way forward

Priorities for actions

• Facilitated by Sally REYNOLDS, Managing Director ATiT

• Rapporteurs: Tapio KOSKINEN (Aalto University) /Yves PUNIE (IPTS)

13:15 Conclusions

• Reports from the thematic panels and open discussions
• Final conclusions

13:30 – End of workshop

Workshop links and documents

• Biography - Etelberto Costa (36 KB)
• Biography - Georges Van Steene (42 KB)
• Biography - Hans Laugesen (42 KB)
• Biography - Johannes Theiner (42 KB)
• Biography - Lara Widmer (2 MB)
• Biography - Marc Durando (43 KB)
• Biography - Markku Markkkula (60 KB)
• Biography - Oscar Valiente
• Biography - Richard Straub (56 KB)
• Biography - Sally Reynolds (79 KB)
• Biography - Saverio Salerno (12 KB)
• Biography - Tapio Koskinen (43 KB)
• Compendium of Good Practice Cases of e-learning
• Education and Culture DG
• Enterprise and Industry DG
• Information Society DG
• Technology Enhanced Learning Research
• The role of education and training in the implementation of the Europe 2020 Strategy
• The use of ICT to support innovation and lifelong learning for all - A report on progress
• Updated Strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020)

Session organiser: Marco MARSELLA (European Commission, DG Information Society and Media, Luxembourg)