Digital Empowerment as Inclusion by Enabling People to Become Subjects of the Information Society: Assessment of some ICT Based Community Communication Projects

摘要

This article examines some of the ways information technology, especially the Internet, can be used to empower individuals and communities to become active participants in the information society rather than only receiving consumers of new technology and its contents. I propose that digital empowerment can be a development process for communities.Digital empowerment is context-specific and socially constructed. In the application of new technology, this means taking account of different needs and circumstances. Information and communication technology can be used in strengthening the abilities of communities to bridge obstructive gaps and create new ways of participation. For the process of digital empowerment, I suggest a constructive approach, where people are involved as active participants and creators.In the end I would like to present briefly some local communities in Finland, which use ICT tools for sharing information and their views online, and thus making some change in their communities (mansetori.uta.fi). I have worked closely with these communities for five years during the research projects of Journalism Research and Development Centre at the University of Tampere.