WSIS Forum 2023: Strengthening the Collaboration of Digital Literacy for Disabilities

A survey conducted by the Central Statistics Bureau (BPS) Indonesia reveals that the number of people with disabilities in Indonesia reached around 22.5 million people in 2022. This number has increased from 2021 which amounted to 16.5 million. Unfortunately, this trend isn’t matched by the level of productivity of persons with disabilities in Indonesia. The same research shows that only 7.6 million out of 17 million persons with disabilities of productive age are working. The low participation of persons with disabilities in the workforce is caused by the emergence of the industrial revolution 4.0, which prioritizes digital talent as an absolute requirement for competent human resources. Even the need for digital talent is projected to be at least 600,000 people each year (Ministry of Communication and Informatics Republic of Indonesia, 2022)

On the other hand, a study found out that there’s still a digital divide between persons with disabilities and non-disabilities in Indonesia (Prestianta et. al, 2018). According to Windasari et. al (2011), this digital divide includes three aspects, namely, gaps in accessing technology which cause differences in distribution of information, gaps in technology use skills, and gaps in utilizing information obtained from the internet. However, this problem can be overcomed by providing education and training about digital technology that is focused and specific for those who are excluded. This is also regulated in Law number 8 year 2016, where public policies and programs must be inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities in Indonesia.

Seeing the gap between the needs of digital talents and the digital competencies of persons with disabilities, the Ministry of Communication and Informatics of Republic Indonesia (Kominfo) in collaboration with the National Movement for Digital Literacy (GNLD) Siberkreasi initiated an inclusive digital literacy program for persons with disabilities. This program is aimed to increase persons with disabilities’s awareness about the importance of digital competence and to equip them with appropriate digital skills

By holding this forum we hoped that we can provide an overview to the audiences regarding Indonesia’s efforts in strengthening collaboration with multistakeholders on providing equal access to digital literacy for persons with disabilities in Indonesia. Ultimately, it is hoped that there will be discussions with the participants in overcoming the problem of inequality of access faced by persons with disabilities.