Bridging the digital divide: 800,000 individuals reached through Telia’s digital inclusion initiatives

Sara Nordbrand, Telia Company Head of Group Sustainability, says: "Tech is indeed great but for some groups it is difficult. And even if the online world opens up unimaginable opportunities for many, it is not easy for everyone to stay at pace with the development and manage various risks online. Therefore, Telia Company decided in 2021 to make digital inclusion a key priority and an integrated part of our business strategy with a particular focus on skills building. Today I can conclude that we have almost reached our 2023 target, one year ahead of the set target date. This reflects the high demand for our initiatives, as well as the digital needs of stakeholder groups that otherwise risk being left behind."

Telia's purpose is to reinvent better connected living for all. This means that inclusion lies at the core of our mission. Digital exclusion takes many forms. In 2020, based on local needs analyses in our markets, we decided to zoom in on the following target groups: seniors, children, small and medium enterprises (SME), women and immigrants.

Letting youngsters guide seniors in the online world

Telia's initiative "More digital" is designed to reduce digital exclusion among the elderly by enabling young people to train seniors in basic digital skills needed in their everyday lives when for instance wanting to do basic bank services online or connect with their grandchildren via FaceTime. Up until today, the initiative has reached 12,000 individuals through close collaboration between Telia and 33 municipalities in Sweden and Norway.

Helping children stay safe and sound on the internet

For children it is more important than ever to navigate safely in the online world, take a stand against cyber bullying and recognize misinformation. Parents on the other hand need skills and technical solutions to support their kids. In Finland, Telia therefore launched the digital parenting package, created in collaboration with Save the Children Finland which has been used by more than 11,000 parents since the start. In Lithuania, every fifth school child has joined online safety workshops provided by our initiative "Growing up on the internet". In Estonia and Lithuania, more than 16,000 kids have learned online safety skills using the playful "Spoofy" online game, launched in collaboration with Telia and IT consultancy firm CGI.

Supporting young people's mental health

Mental health constitutes an increasing problem in many countries today. Triumf Hero, a gamified app, created by Triumf Health, aims to ease the mental burden of children and youth by providing psychological support including psychoeducation and coping techniques. Through Telia's support it is now also available in Ukrainian language to support Ukrainian children in- and outside of Ukraine.

Making sure that SMEs do not lag behind

Telia has also stepped up the work to support SMEs in building new digital skills and capabilities, through training efforts, free seminars and webinars on various digital topics, having reached more than 110,000 employees of SME's since early 2021. Making sure that small and middle-sized companies are fit for the future is key to secure livelihoods and employment opportunities in our markets.

Reducing barriers to employment in the ICT sector

Diversity is a strength, and the ICT sector itself would benefit from becoming more diverse. In Finland we therefore partner with social innovation Startup Refugees Mentoring Program to support refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants in finding reskilling opportunities and employment in Finland's IT industry, with 102 individuals joining to the initiative since 2020. In parallel we are addressing the male-dominance of the sector through various means including the "Women Go Tech" program to reskill women into IT and Tech in several of our markets.

Read more about our work on digital inclusion and how it supports the achievement of SDG10 here.

Read more about the 2022 World Benchmarking Alliance study on digital inclusion where Telia was ranked 11 out of 150 among global ICT companies.