IThe journey through the digital world, the theme of the Udine stage of the Gedi “Alphabet of the Future” tour scheduled today in Udine, at 5.30 pm, starts from one consideration: the pandemic has served in most cases as an accelerator, while in others it caused slowdowns, particularly in less developed countries and in general as regards the construction of physical infrastructures. An important fact to analyze in order to develop organic growth in the world of technologies and digital skills. This is, in fact, the main gap to be bridged between countries. A digital divide that is still strong even between the various Italian territories.
We are talking about it today in Udine, at 5.30 pm, in live streaming from the Aula Magna Kolbe of the University of Udine. The theme of the appointment is “Governing the digital evolution”. Massimo Giannini, director of La Stampa and editorial director of the GNN newspapers, Omar Monestier, director of the Messaggero Veneto, Luca Ubaldeschi, director of Il Secolo XIX and editorial manager of the tour, and Paolo Mosanghini, co-director of the Messaggero Veneto will intervene. Guests: Roberto Pinton, rector of the University of Udine, Sergio Barel, CEO of Brovedani Group, Fabiano Benedetti, president and CEO of beanTech, Alessandra Benvenuti, of Insiel Digital Academy, Francesco Contin, project manager of Ditedi, Gianluca Foresti, director of the Department of Mathematical, Computer and Physical Sciences of the University of Udine, Teresa Fornaro, researcher at the National Institute of Astrophysics, Francesca Nieddu, regional director of Veneto Est and Friuli Venezia Giulia of Intesa Sanpaolo, and the IcTea Team.
While thinking about governing digital development, what is the situation on the ground? According to the report “We are social-Hootsuite”, by the European Center for Digital Competitiveness in July 2021, Internet users increased by over a quarter of a billion compared to the same period of the previous year, recording year-on-year growth close to 6%. There are 4.80 billion internet users around the world today, accounting for nearly 61% of the total population. Mobile device users reached 5.27 billion, or just under 67% of the population. And the number of social media users has also increased by more than 13% since last year. There are now 4.48 billion social media users worldwide, which is nearly 57% of the total world population.
Looking at Italy, more than 50 million people access the Internet every day and 41 million active on social media. Despite the demographic decline, over 1 million people connected to the internet for the first time during 2020, an increase of 2.2%. Even more important is the increase on the social platforms front: over 2 million new users, almost 6% which reaches 41 million. Smartphones are in the pockets and hands of 97% of us, while 3 out of 4 people use desktop or laptop computers. But using these tools does not always mean having the competence to do so and in fact the Italians are among the worst in Europe. In 2019, among individuals aged 16-74, only 22% said they had high digital skills (compared to 31% of the European average) and 3.4% of the population had practically no skills. Yet something is moving. According to the Digital Riser Report 2021 drawn up by the European Center for digital Competitiveness, thanks to the investments and good practices introduced in the last year, Italy has climbed the ranking of the G7 countries passing from the last place to the second step of the podium. “2020 was a completely exceptional year. A year that, due to its transformative scope, due to its impact on people and businesses, has condensed into 12 months changes that occur in at least 5 years. Now, thanks to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, new scenarios are opening up ”, comments Marco Gay, president of Anitec-Assinform. In particular, among the six in which the NRP is divided, the mission “Digitization, innovation, competitiveness, culture and tourism” will see the use of funds (including complementary funds) for 49.86 billion euros, equal to over 20 % of total resources. This mission includes investments in infrastructures for the modernization of telecommunications networks and funds to support the digitization and innovation of businesses and the production system. Another strategic axis is the digitalization of the Public Administration to which almost 12 billion will be allocated. The goal of all these investments is to put Italy in the leading group in Europe by 2026. To do so, it is a foundationbridging the digital skills gap, with at least 70% of the population being digitally capable. But we must also pay close attention to the risks: a disorderly growth in digitization can lead to greater vulnerability on the insidious front of cybercrime.