The Digital Transition is deeply changing society. Big technological advances are pervasively changing societal institutions, political structures, economies and culture, and fundamentally impacting how we interact, work, live and even how we think.
European citizens and businesses still depend, for over 80%, on digital products, services, infrastructures and intellectual property from other continents. Therefore, the European Union wants to accelerate Europe’s economy and digitize society.
Despite the opportunities of digital technologies, there are also concerns. Digital technologies are shaped by implicit and explicit choices, incorporating values, norms and economic interests. As a result of pre-existing cultural, social and institutional preconceptions, bias can enter algorithmic systems, leading to systematic unfair treatment and even discrimination, in other words, unwanted digital futures.
Apart from that, digital inclusion is far from achieved: the digital world is still inaccessible or unaffordable for many.
As the European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles sets out, the EU wants to build a just and democratic digital society, protecting and respecting democracy and human rights, putting people at the center of social and technical innovation, promoting human values, in Europe and beyond.
To ensure a fair and inclusive digital transition, Europe needs all-round digitally skilled social digital innovators – intensively trained to understand the nexus of society and technology, equipped with advanced digital skills and social reflexivity, capable of driving human-centred innovation in inclusive and responsible ways in a rapidly changing society. To build this new generation of reflective professionals is the vision and ambition of EURIDICE.
