Zammit Lewis stresses importance of digital economy

The Parliamentary Secretary for Economic Growth and Competitiveness, Edward Zammit Lewis, said that a sustainable digital economy, as well as an inclusive digital society, is highly dependent on skilled people who can engage effectively with technology. 

Zammit Lewis was speaking at the sixth 'Telecentre-Europe' annual summit, which was being held in Malta for the first time. 

Telecentre-Europe is a network of European public ICT learning centres known as Telecentres, which are set up in local authorities, NGOs, libraries and other educational venues. These telecentres focus on fostering knowledge, sharing, and learning amongst their members. It also aims to increase their impact and effectiveness throughout Europe. 

The annual summit brings together telecentre leaders and stakeholders from across Europe and aims at exploring strategies, plans and common actions on the themes of digital inclusion, digital jobs, youth unemployment and telecentre sustainability. 

This year, the summit is expected to focus on creating a roadmap for the organisation and its members where the primary objective is expected to shift from the subject of digital inclusion to digital empowerment. It will focus on the ways and means through which people can be supported to improve their skills, find work and transform their lives. 

In all, there are 33 European nations represented at the Telecentre-Europe community made up of around 60 local, regional and national telecentre networks, which between them include over 30,000 Telecentres. The Malta Communications Authority is a founding member of Telecentre Europe and, in collaboration with various NGOs, local councils and public agencies, currently operates 20 telecentres across Malta and Gozo. 

Zammit Lewis lauded the telecentre model for empowering grass root organisations towards achieving digital communities. 

The Chairperson of Telecentre-Europe, Mara Jakobsone, said that the MCA was one of its most active members in the Network and has been very successful in its local telecentre activity. 

The Chairman of the MCA, Dr. Edwards Woods, said that the MCA was committed to supporting and contributing to this Network. 

"The MCA strongly believes that this is an ideal opportunity for all European nations and regions to share experiences, those which are successful or otherwise," he said. 

Dr. Woods added that the Authority will continue to strive to get more NGOs and local bodies involved in the telecentre initiative as he believed these had a central role to play in any efforts undertaken to overcome the digital divide, as well as to encourage the effective use of ICT by all members of society.