Speech by the Prince of Orange at the World Congress on Information Technology

Ladies and gentlemen,

A few weeks ago, US president Barack Obama addressed students at Hampton University on the importance of having an education in order to be competitive in the knowledge economy. His eloquent speech included this quote: 'With iPods and iPads and Xboxes and PlayStations - none of which the President claimed he knew how to work - information becomes a distraction, a form of entertainment rather than a tool of empowerment.' President Obama also said that, as a result, technology was putting 'new pressures on our country and on our democracy'. These are strong words, and The Economist was quick to dismiss his remarks as part of a long tradition of grumbling about new technologies and new forms of media. But it would be too easy - if not just plain wrong - to dismiss Obama as a technophobe. This is a US president who led what was probably the most effective new media election campaign in history, and who went to enormous lengths not to be forcefully separated from his trusted blackberry when moving into the White House.

If we look closer at the President's comments, it seems to me that human nature, rather than technology, bears primary responsibility here. Technology in itself does not distinguish between good information and bad information: consumers do - or at least they should. In the end, it is human beings who determine whether IT is used in a way that empowers and emancipates, or distracts and misleads - or worse. The point is that humans should remain in control. We can channel technological progress, we can shape it and adapt to it, as President Obama also pointed out. But if we accept new technologies and new forms of media as facts of life, we have to ensure that individuals and communities are ready and able to participate in the information society. This is where e-inclusion policy comes into play. Having realised that the digital world and the world at large are increasingly becoming one and the same, we must also work to make our digital world open, accessible and inclusive, to ensure that no one is left behind.

At the most basic level, of course, this requires infrastructure. Without connectivity, we cannot bridge the digital divide.

The next step is accessibility. Once the infrastructure is in place, we have to reach out to ensure that vulnerable groups are not excluded from technological progress and left isolated, whether at home, in the workplace or in society at large. The elderly, for example, may regard new media as too complicated. Low-income families may not be in a position to access the internet or related technologies. And mainstream technologies don't always cater for people with disabilities. This is especially unfortunate, since it is groups like these - at risk of being isolated - that could benefit most from the information society in terms of boosting their social, cultural and economic empowerment.

Once people have access to this world, e-skills and e-competences become essential. Whether you are a total digital illiterate or a fully-wired top management professional, maintaining your digital skills and knowledge is crucial to your chances on the job market, to your participation in social networks and to improving your quality of life in general. National governments and local authorities have an important role to play here. So do employers, schoolteachers and parents - and of course the media companies themselves.

In the Netherlands, government, the private sector and NGO's work together to raise awareness of the importance of eCompetences and eAwareness, and to provide for opportunities for people to learn and grow in the digital world. Later in this session, professor Hans Vijlbrief will discuss these programmes in more detail.

In itself, technology is not an alternative to education and empowerment. It can help deliver them, but only if the right conditions are in place: when people have the skills and awareness to use new media effectively. Those who venture out into the digital world without such skills and awareness can be vulnerable, just like in the real world. The ugly face of IT is well known: unsolicited information, illegal content, privacy issues and identity theft, plus numerous other forms of cybercrime.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Many of us share the sense that the generation of digital natives born and raised in the information age is way ahead of the digital immigrants of older generations. Viewed from this perspective, the digital divide should only be a transitional phenomenon, which will fade away with time. But I fear it may not be that simple. First, I know of too many exceptions to the rule. I'd also point out that technological progress is ongoing, so every generation is continuously challenged to keep adapting to an ever-changing environment. The real digital divide is not between generations, but between those who are willing and able to keep adapting and those who hesitate, cannot keep up or lose interest - or have no access to digital facilities in the first place. Recent research from the Netherlands seems to underscore this point. Even though the penetration rates of the internet and broadband in the Netherlands are among the highest in the world, about three million Dutch people still have no internet access. According to the University of Twente, specific measures are urgently needed to prevent these groups - mainly elderly or low-skilled - being permanently excluded from the benefits of the information society.

Researchers also note that only a limited group has sufficient internet and strategic skills to use the internet to its full advantage. Only twelve per cent of Dutch users have highly developed internet skills, and this figure seems unlikely to go up in the next few years. In fact, crucially, the researchers found that the celebrated digital generation is being beaten by their parents in this field. The digital natives may be more at ease with the internet's formal operations, but the older generation demonstrates better strategic and information skills. Young people may use the internet a great deal. But they do not always possess the skills needed to properly assess information and use it to their advantage.

This is a sobering thought. Our children use new media on a daily basis, at home or at school, for homework or for fun. They watch movies, play games, share files, network socially and search for information. But new media offer threats as well as opportunities. Children may be bullied online. They may be threatened, or tempted to share private information. Or they may encounter information or pictures that they find hard to deal with. Children should be taught how to deal with new media. They need support when taking their first steps into the digital jungle, to learn how to avoid technology's pitfalls while making full use of its amazing potential in pursuing their goals. As I said earlier, children's information skills are often overrated. Our children won't automatically acquire the skills they need to effectively search, select and assess information online, even if they grow up in a world full of new media.

School would seem the obvious place to acquire new media skills and literacy. Although in the Netherlands the word 'internet' is strikingly absent from the core curriculum, there are plenty of opportunities to introduce key competences in the classroom: searching and assessing information, exercising restraint in sharing personal data, and behaving respectfully on email, and chat and social sites. Online safety in schools can and should be encouraged, not only by technical means such as firewalls and virus scanners, but also through strategies for dealing with unsolicited, unsuitable or illegal content.

The Dutch programme for digital literacy, Digivaardig & Digibewust , which means 'e-skilled and e-aware' seeks to support - among others - schools in several ways. For example, it is developing practical tools for teachers and parents, such as a draft internet protocol that schools can choose to adopt. Another important initiative is the appointment of so-called cyberparents, who play an important role in fostering internet safety and security in schools.

Unlike other countries, there are currently no compulsory internet protocols in the Netherlands for schools to guide pupils, teachers and parents in their everyday dealings with the digital world. My own impression is that many parents, among them certainly my wife and me, are looking for reassurance in this area, and would appreciate a strong message on how to do the right thing. The introduction of practical and uniform internet protocols in schools might be just the message that's needed, and I would strongly recommend it.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Don't get me wrong. I strongly believe in the power of technology, to help educate and empower. I am the father of three young daughters whom I want to grow up to become good digital citizens. And I believe in education as the best way to help them to adapt to technological change and use it positively. Given that everything in real life - good and bad - also has a place in the digital world, we'd better make sure we're well prepared!

Thank you.