title of presentation place/conference title xxth … malta/1_dm...feedback from break-out session 2...

2014 - 2018

Stakeholder Consultations: Digital Citizen

29th July 2013

DIGITAL MALTA

Agenda

09:00 Plenary 1:

- Introduction

- Setting the context for a national ICT strategy

09:30 Parallel break-out sessions: - Session 1 : Formal Education and Life Long Learning

- Session 2 : Social Cohesion and Digital Citizenship

- Session 3 : Healthcare and Healthy Ageing

11.00 Plenary 2: - Presentation of Session 1: – 10 mins; Feedback – 15 mins

- Presentation of Session 2: – 10 mins; Feedback – 15 mins

- Presentation of Session 3: – 10 mins; Feedback – 15 mins

12:15 Concluding note

12:30 Networking reception

.

Scope of Workshop

• Provide you with background:

• Commissioned by Parliamentary Secretary (PS) responsible for

Competitiveness and Economic Growth

• 5-year strategy for a Digital Economy

• To brief you of progress

• As part of the Stakeholders Consultation process to:

• Receive your feedback

• Listen to your ideas and proposals

Current key Strengths

• ICT contributes 5.2% value added to national GDP

• All pupils in schools have access to computers and the Internet

• High proliferation of mobile telephony and internet access

• A high rate of ICT awareness – digital literacy and ICT access

• Malta ranks 1st in four e-Government benchmarks and 2nd in another

• Strong ICT establishment and ICT infrastructure within Government

• Political consensus on strategic policies and key objectives

• ICT sector supported by experienced and skilled professionals

• A successful history of implementations carried out in partnership

between Government and the private sector

• Compactness enables agility and piloting at country-level

• Various incentives (including fiscal) offered

• Presence of prime foreign investments in the ICT industry

• Strong regulatory authorities and Government’s IT Agency

Some of the problem areas

• ICT investments are not being fully utilized

• Misalignment between ICT education curriculum & industry needs

• Take-up of public online services by citizens is below the EU average

• Lack of interactive e-government services

• Lack of local content for the web and mobile devices

• Local ICT market size is relatively small

• Internet connectivity is dependent on other countries

• ICT contribution towards energy efficiency is marginally low

• Insufficient ICT R&I and a lack of patenting activity

• Majority of local ICT companies cater for internal market needs

• Limited facilitation to access and penetrate foreign markets

• Discouraging processes for ICT start-ups

• Inadequate schemes for ICT business angel investors

1. Benefits (from ICT) for all

3. Support of national targets

5. Accountability, value

optimisation and

maximisation

7. More environmental friendly

society

2. Strategic leadership that is

responsive to citizen &

business needs

4. Active engagement of private

sector

6. Emphasis on collaboration

between stakeholders

8. Measurable against targets;

re-calibrated

Underlying Principles for Strategy

“We prosper as a digitally-enabled nation through the

universal, empowering and intelligent use of ICT in all

sectors of our economy, society and government within a

global context.”

Digital Malta

Proposed Vision

Strategic Themes and Enablers

Strategic

Themes

Enablers

Vision

Digital Citizen

• Upgrade the quality of life and the standard of living

• Bridge the digital divide

• Secure ICT as a social equaliser

• Increase awareness among citizens on the opportunities that ICTs can bring to their

daily life/work

• Facilitate access to basic technology and connectivity

• Enable access to quality content and services (re: lifestyle, cultural background,

employment and education)

• Build better social cohesion to overcome social, healthy, age and disability vulnerabilities

• Assist all citizens to learn new ICT related competences

• Provide every citizen with the tools to balance between family commitments, lifelong

learning, and to remain active

• Preserve, enhance and promote the Maltese culture and identity

• Build trust in the digital world

Aims

Objectives

Digital Business

• Strengthen the competitiveness and export-orientation of local ICT Industry

• Empower Digital Business growth across different sectors through the use of ICT

• Generate growth in value-adding Digital Jobs

Aims

Digital Government

• Make Government more efficient and less bureaucratic

• Institute a more-open Government

Aims

Focus of Break-out Sessions

• Feedback on thoughts presented

• Desired Outcomes

• Indicators and Targets

• Initiatives / Activities

• Supporting strategies

Your Views Matter!

Break-out Sessions

Feedback from Break-out Session 1 – Formal

Education and Life Long Learning (1)

Targets: Build an entrepreneurial / business mindset

• Openness to risk and failure

• Entrepreneurship should become a lifestyle

• And should be part of education at the early stages

• Students are too sheltered and this induces the wrong

attitude

Quality in everything that we do

Alignment between academia and local market • Specialized courses cannot be delivered because qualified

educators are not available (e.g. Game development)

• Increase awareness of opportunity



Basic digital literacy 1. Exhibit appetite from communities

• Progression of competencies

• Ensure use is rewarded appropriately

• E-services closer to citizens

• Self development and further assistance upon

completion of studies

• Getting citizens involved

2. Using ICTs as a vehicle to improve literacy, for inclusion

• Students and young individuals supporting senior

citizens

3. Integrating ICTs across sectors and disciplines to exploit

opportunities



Basic digital literacy

4. Sustaining the interest in technology throughout life and

teach the real skill rather than simply using the technology

5. Awareness of ethical consideration for users to be critical

users and not passive consumers

6. Support system for entrepreneurship should be improved



High-value ICT knowledge

1. Applying ICT across courses

• Opening up current limitations in access

2. The importance of research

• Self-learning and instigating self-development

3. Awareness on ICT careers and application of ICT in every

aspect of life and work

• Increase female participation!

4. Focusing learning on students interests

• Excitement across curriculum

• Boost confidence



High-value ICT knowledge

5. Creativity hubs

• Promote events / societal activities through

technology; provide evidence of the exciting

deliverables enabled through technology

6. Review of assessment and qualifications



Additional suggestions during the plenary

1. Encourage the community to share ideas and promote ICT

using intermediaries (e.g. social clubs)

2. More partnerships between MCA/Government and NGOs to

foster digital literacy as NGOs are better equipped to

communicate with communities

3. Use old vintage buses to reach out to citizens

4. Improve accessibility by the elderly to laptops and tablets

5. Improve ICT accessibility and availability in elderly homes

Feedback from Break-out Session 2 – Social

Cohesion and Digital Citizenship (1)

Social Cohesion: – An opportunity for everyone irrespective of age, race,

gender, socio-economic background to participate in society

ICT – two fronts – ICT as a social equaliser and ICT as a cause for social

exclusion

Digital Divide/Digital Competence – different levels and aspects -

professionals might be ICT illiterate.

(it’s not about teaching how to use technology – but rather showing people

the value of ICT – helping them understand the need for ICT)

Online Risks, applied in a context, courage, critical abilities,

The educational system might not be oriented to provide the ‘softer skills’

Role of Government - People self learn how to use the internet;

duty to educate citizens (life-long learning)? O+r is it? Role of facilitator.

Digital parenting

Feedback from Break-out Session 2 – Social

Cohesion and Digital Citizenship (2)

Affordability – Yes but is it really a problem of funds or a priority issue?

(excluding the real social cases)

Kick-starting usage helps – get people to try it out

Need more effort on Affordability for disability, ageing, mobility...

Is there enough opportunity – to use ICT, to learn from its use? Are

people aware of the opportunities available? (Youtube, Facebook?)

Digital Citizenship: What is digital citizenship? – Facebook –

responsibilities, respect etc... / cyber-bullying

Involve citizens in the democratic processes.

Easier to communicate with public.

Opportunity for open government – information might exist, but might not

be easy to reach.

How easy/user friendly is Government?

Feedback from Break-out Session 3 – Healthcare &

Healthy Ageing (1)

Mature ICT set-up exists in Maltese hospitals – important benefits achieved

(e.g. PACS) – therefore important to build on and improve what there is.

Patient records still paper-based with multiple sources of information –

electronic patient records needed to assist medical staff and empower citizens.

Take-up of IT by medical staff not consistent and patchy – take-up of

MyHealth insufficient by both GPs and citizens – need to understand what

issues are: eID, repetitive log-ons, etc.

Change management is key to address inconsistent take-up by medical staff

and resistance to use of IT.

Telecare started by government years ago has stalled, this now needs to be

taken to new levels such as telemedicine.

Current telecare services are available privately at a premium which is not

accessible by all – cost of implementing such services however could bring

about savings in cost of acute care.


Healthy Ageing (2)

Funding available for telemedicine / independent living projects through both

EU and MCST managed funds (e.g. PINATA).

Patient records and remote monitoring are a means to empower citizens to

manage their own health.

Not enough awareness on MyHealth portal, and more information must be

circulated about preventive medicine and services available.

Government websites too static and need to be updated, social media such

as Facebook, is more dynamic and should be considered for the dissemination

of information.

Need for specialisation in health informatics by ICT specialists, and training of

medical staff on knowledge and benefits of ICT.

Below EU average take-up of ICT by elderly needs to be addressed.

ICT in nursing homes should relieve carers and nursing staff to dedicate more

attention to elderly residents left doing nothing in corridors.


Healthy Ageing (3)

Further comments made during the second plenary:

Emphasis made on the importance of going ahead with the implementation of

ePrescriptions and medical records which are still paper-based causing

hardship to medical staff.

An integrated health system is needed to reduce admissions to hospital and

help primary healthcare doctors to focus more on the patients without having to

engage in a time-consuming exercise to reconstruct the patient’s past medical

history and background.

Elderly nursing homes are not using the full potential of ICT, including for

entertainment purposes. Applications such as YouTube should be considered. IT

should be deployed to support nurses and carers in their day-to-day operations

in such homes.

Thank you

[email protected]

Concluding Remarks

mailto:[email protected]

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