On October 27 of 2019, DIGRA President Esther Mwema and Vice President Uffa Modey hosted the session “I Want To Do That Too!” at 2019 MozFest. The session participants created a collectively written open letter for digital inclusion in modern age technology letter.
Read the full letter below:
“Hello Readers!
We are the attendees of “I Want To Do That Too!” session in the Digital Inclusion space of 2019 Annual Mozilla Festival. Our goal for inclusion in modern technology is yours as well and we invite you to join us in raising awareness on the challenges surrounding the use of new and emerging technology for people from minority groups.
A lack of inclusivity creates a digital divide which silences voices and prevents collective action on behalf of the under-represented group. A lack of access also contributes to limited opportunity in education or jobs. Without a collection of diverse voices, opportunities for innovation are stymied, which ultimately reduces the rate of socioeconomic development for all.
We want to be included; we don’t want our age, gender, sex, race, physical disability and social economic status to limit us from accessing digital services. This experience of inclusion in our present day can be limited in circumstances such as disability or social economic costs, any form of social discrimination online and services that are only available in certain regions and not others.
Technology must not be used to profile us, discriminate or spy on us. We want to have autonomy of technology so that we are not just consumers but also owners, inventors and creators. We want to be able to understand technologies and content so it should be in a language that we speak and understand. We want to have affordable access to devices and the Internet so that we can also benefit from being part of the digital world.
We call on all Internet stakeholders to explore avenues for promoting inclusion in digital technology. Key issues for review should include cost of internet connectivity, affordability of smart devices and equity and justice for human rights online. There should be transparency and accountability in technology design. Users should be able to trust that their interests are represented during policy development for ICT.
We hope you keep the fight going!”
Learn more about this letter here