Partners from the CORA (COnnecting Remote Areas with digital infrastructure and services) project visited the Norwegian province of Hedmark from May 22 to 24, 2019 to learn from the experiences of the Norwegian and Swedish project partners.
Library educates residents
The first stop at the Kongsvinger library focused on the digital agenda of the municipality of Kongsvinger. As part of the digital transformation, Kongsvinger is combining the different requirements of its users. This improves work processes and technology, implements change management and renews the administration. The municipality and citizens decide together how they want to meet the major challenges of digitalization. Kongsvinger Library is helping residents to improve their digital skills in concrete ways, for example by offering courses on how to use computers, the internet, email and e-commerce.
Cross-border infrastructure
The next stop on the trip was Finnskogtoppen on the Norwegian-Swedish border, where a cross-border fiber optic network is to be set up. Preparations are progressing well. Partners from the provinces of Hedmark (Norway) and Värmland (Sweden) are working together on the administrative and technical challenges. A Swedish access point is being set up directly on the border. From there, a Norwegian company will route the fiber optic cable to households and businesses in Norway.
Hedmark consists of several rural regions that do not yet have access to high-speed internet (white spots). Hedmark’s broadband strategy offers solutions to this challenge, some of which are already being implemented. For example, a fiber optic project has already been launched in the municipality of Grue. The aim is to increase access to high-speed internet from ten percent of all households in 2018 to 72 percent in 2019.
Digital skills of older people
In addition to the construction of cross-border fiber optic infrastructure, improving the digital skills of older people is a challenge in rural areas of Sweden and Norway. The municipality of Torsby (Värmland, Sweden) is already implementing concrete measures to this end with its “Go Digital” program. In a series of workshops, young people teach older people how to use the internet. Three rural municipalities in Norway, Kongsvinger, Grue and Eidskog, are pursuing a similar concept.
CORA identifies challenges
The trip showed that the implementation of the CORA project is proceeding according to plan. Training material for the three key areas of broadband expansion, improving digital skills and digital services is available online. Ten pilot projects are being carried out in the partner regions. The challenges identified so far are
- Lack of awareness at all levels of stakeholders (end users, politicians) for cross-border and transnational solutions,
- Administrative barriers,
- Tensions between stakeholders (national, regional, local administration, business) regarding responsibility for digital infrastructure, digitalization or measures focusing on digital skills,
- Involvement of users, as they are not yet aware of the benefits and do not recognize the need for implementation.
The next CORA partner meeting and stakeholder conference is planned for November 6-8, 2019 in Groningen, the Netherlands.