Digital Empowerment Promotion Project in Remote Areas

I. Objective Overview

This initiative is driven by the vision of “achieving digital inclusive empowerment and fostering shared well-being through digital innovation”. Building upon the foundational work in the initial project phase, the approach is further guided by five key strategies, namely: “introducing new digital ecosystems to revolutionize local service models”, “strengthening the development of distinctive local features to enhance community digital content”, “adapting to the changing digital landscape by refining zero-contact learning” and “establishing a robust digital development environment to drive industrial digital transformation”. These strategies form the core framework that harnesses collaborative efforts across departments to achieve the objectives of “empowering diverse groups with information literacy, elevating digital learning capabilities, creating value in digital content development and collaborating to shape a positive digital environment”.

II. Implementation Strategy/Key Promotional Items

i. Background

To cooperate with the Digital Divide Reduction policy by the Executive Yuan, the goal of the first session (2005-2007) by the Ministry of Education (MOE) was‘Reducing the digital divide between urban and remote areas', the goal of the second session (2008-2011) was‘Creating digital opportunities', the goal of the third session (2012-2015) was‘Deep-seated cultivation of digital care', the goal of the fourth session (2016-2019) was‘Popularizing digital applications', the goal of the fifth session (2020-2023) was‘Marching towards digital affirmative rights', In the sixth phase (2024-2027), the spotlight will be on the “Digital Inclusion and Empowerment Project”, facilitated by the Ministry of Education through its “Digital Empowerment Promotion Project in Remote Areas” to actively contribute to the provision of digital applications and services to remote populations.

ii. Summary

Given the rapid advancement of technologies, the influence of digitization has become pervasive in the daily lives of citizens. In response to the dynamic changes in society, the government is actively engaged in a digital transformation, necessitating collaborative efforts among relevant agencies to construct a comprehensive and cohesive digital ecosystem.

Functioning as a local hub for digital learning services, the Digital Opportunity Center (DOC) draws upon its wealth of experience and success in promoting digital education. By orchestrating courses and outreach initiatives covering diverse aspects such as daily applications, health education, and emerging technologies, the DOC establishes itself as a local resource for digital consultation services whilst championing an innovative “digital assistance” model that aids remote populations in seamlessly integrating digital services into their lives.

As we usher in the post-pandemic era, a concerted effort has been made to strengthen zero-contact digital learning, with a simultaneous incorporation of online resources into physical courses to enrich the learning experience. Not only that, the DOC will be assisting remote communities with the application of digital services and the development of digital marketing capabilities to reinforce the construction of local digital content and showcasing their unique features.

iii. Objectives

1. To promote inter-department collaboration by actively coordinating resources from various departments and providing digital empowerment and consultation services at departmental locations so as to establish a digital ecosystem and disseminate digital service capabilities to remote areas.

2. To continue to offer diverse channels for integrated digital learning in remote areas so as to ensure that residents in remote areas have access to a stable digital learning environment, thereby contributing to the enhancement of their information application skills and literacy.

iv. Cross-departmental collaboration and resource integration

1. Planning and Coordination: Ministry of Education (including the management and assessment of project results).

2. Counseling and Promotion: Counseling teams (including special counseling such as information education, community marketing, video and audio recording, and community care).

3. Implementation: Digital Opportunity Center (DOC inventory resource survey, development and management).

4. Resource integration: Council of Indigenous Peoples、National Immigration Agency、Ministry of Digital Affairs、Ministry of Health and Welfare、Minstry of Agriculture.

v. Promotion strategy

In conjunction with the five major strategies of the “Digital Inclusion and Empowerment Project”, the Ministry of Education has designed and will be implementing its “Digital Empowerment Promotion Project in Remote Areas” (2024-2027), with the goal of enhancing the information application skills and literacy of the public through nationwide guidance teams and the Digital Opportunity Center.

vi. The focus of operational affairs

In the " Digital Inclusion and Empowerment Project (2024-2027)", the MOE is conducting and promoting the " Digital Empowerment Promotion Project in Remote Areas ". This project is divided into two subprojects according to implemental focus: the Digital Opportunity Center (DOC), and Digital Learning Partners.

1. The DOCs are venues for people in remote areas to utilize computers and the internet. It aims to create an environment for people in remote areas to conveniently access the internet and information, raise peoples' computer utilization rate and internet access rate, cultivate peoples' digital application abilities in remote areas, facilitate the developments of local cultural industries, fully activate these developments in remote areas, and reduce the digital divide. The establishment of the DOCs will combine the power of public and private departments, as well as community residents to jointly implement this center, and it is expected that via the DOCs, citizen participation can be enhanced, and digital marketing and online self-learning can be carried out, thereby reaching the needs of digital use in life and enriching living applications. The current phase of the project will involve the expansion of service scope for DOCs to departmental locations to strengthen their digital application capabilities and subsequently extend relevant government digital services outwards.

2. The “Digit Companions for Learning” Program draws inspiration from the university mentorship model by enlisting and nurturing undergraduate students to act as mentors for students in remote elementary and junior high schools or participants at DOCs. Leveraging video equipment and digital learning platforms, this program is designed to facilitate one-on-one, real-time interaction and learning between the mentors (undergraduates) and learners (elementary/junior high school or DOC students) in a scheduled, centralized manner. The goal is to broaden the students’ perspectives, enhance their motivation and stimulate their interests in learning.