“Digital participation for all” – Online conference points the way to more self-determination

Digital participation and digital inclusion: these keywords were the focus of the online conference “Digital participation for all – perspectives and opportunities for more self-determination”, which was held on May 25, 2022 on the initiative of the Lower Saxony Ministry of Digital Affairs and the State Commissioner for People with Disabilities in cooperation with the Lower Saxony Generationsgerechte Alltag (LINGA) state initiative and the Lower Saxony Digital Agency. More than 180 participants accepted the invitation and attended various specialist presentations to find out about the challenges and opportunities that can arise in everyday life for people with disabilities, not only in real life but also in the digital world in particular. Stefan Muhle, Lower Saxony’s State Secretary for Digitalization, and inclusion activist Ralf Krauthausen also contributed to the discussion in their speeches, which led to a lively but also controversial exchange in the plenary session and the accompanying online forum. In his welcoming address, Lower Saxony’s State Secretary for Digitalization, Stefan Muhle, emphasized that digital participation does not only require aspects of a functioning digital infrastructure. Above all, it also means that all people in Lower Saxony and beyond have access to digital education and can acquire digital skills without barriers. In his subsequent keynote speech, inclusion activist Ralf Krauthausen put forward the thesis that digitalization does not always bring only advantages per se, but that the potential disadvantages for people with disabilities must always be considered. He also shared his experience of digital participation in education and the labor market and discussed the potential and opportunities of digital participation for society. aconium is committed to promoting digital education and demonstrating opportunities for all people and population groups to participate in the digital transformation. This is why aconium GmbH is once again supporting the “Prize for Digital Coexistence” of the “Digital for All” initiative on the occasion of Digital Day on June 24, 2022.