Switzerland

							Switzerland
Country Profile
Information Society Indicators
            Percentage of households having internet access to the Internet at home, 2005: 66.2%
            Percentage of households with a broadband connection, 2005: about 51%
            Percentage of individuals (55-74 years old) using the Internet at least once a week, 2005: 37.1% (cf. note)
            Percentage if individuals (55-74 years old) having ordered/bought goods and services for private use over
             the Internet in the last 3 months, 2005: not available
            Percentage of individuals (55-74 years old) using the internet for interacting with public authorities, 2005:
             Obtaining information not available, downloading official forms not available, returning filled forms not
             available

    Notes:
    For Switzerland category 55-74 years old = 50+ years old
    Source: OFCOM Switzerland, Swiss Federal Statistical Office
        I.      e-Inclusion History
        Since 1998 when the Federal Government first agreed on an Information Society Strategy, principles like
         “Access for all to ICT” and “Empowerment for All to use ICT” were promoted. No separate e-Inclusion
         strategy has been adopted so far.
        Switzerland hosted the World Summit of the Information Society 2003 in Geneva (WSIS) where the global
         digital divide was discussed and agreed to the Geneva Declaration and Action Plan, as well as to the
         activities which followed the WSIS 2005 in Tunis.
        Switzerland agreed to the Riga declaration in June 2006.

    II.         e-Inclusion Strategy
 A distinct e-Inclusion Strategy does not exist so far.
 The Federal Council has revised, updated and augmented its 1998 Strategy: Strategy of the Federal Council
  for an Information Society in Switzerland, January 2006
 The Federal Council wishes to exploit the opportunities offered by the use of information and
  communication technologies ICT have the potential to extend the capabilities and communication
  possibilities of people, businesses and institutions.
 One of the principles defied in the strategy includes;
 Access for All: All the inhabitants of Switzerland are part of the information society and have equal and
  unimpeded access to ICT in order to make use of them in accordance with their private and professional
  needs. In the process, consideration is given to the needs of potentially disadvantaged groups within the
  population. In particular, the Confederation promotes measures to ensure gender equality.
 Empowerment for All: Using ICT technology and content of is one of the basic skills of everyday life.
  Members of society must be empowered to use the available media for searching and compiling
  information, for forming opinions and for independently expressing their own opinions. This entails lifelong
  learning for everyone.
 The strategy is being implemented in the competent departments and offices. An Interdepartmental
  Information Society Committee (IISC) is coordinating the work in accordance with a mandate from the
  Federal Council.
 An e-Inclusion network composed of members from public administrations and NGOs (working mostly in
  the fields of cultural diversity, equality for the handicapped and with senior citizens) is drafting an e-
  Inclusion action plan until mid-2007.

Important policies in place
            Public-private Partnership School on the Net: http://www.ppp-sin.ch/dyn/1916.asp?lang=fr The aim of the
             programme is to provide a suitable ICT-infrastructure to all schools in Switzerland and empower the
             teaching staff to use ICT in the classroom. The programme, which is jointly financed by public and private
             actors, will come to an end in 2007.



III.            e-Inclusion Legal Framework

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Law in practice
     Many of the issues which are presented under an e-Inclusion heading can be traced back to the Swiss
      Constitution which has been in force in its present form since 2000. In particular the right to equality for the
      handicapped, and linguistic and cultural diversity are mentioned.

     The Federal Law on the Abolition of Discriminations concerning People with Disabilities has been in force
      since 1 January 2004. The law and its accompanying ordinances treat, among other items, the accessibility
      of public websites.
     In 2004 the Federal Council installed a Federal Bureau for the Equality of People with Disabilities. Among
      other tasks it supervises the implementation of the Federal Law mentioned above.
     The Federal Law on the Principle of Transparency in the Administration has been in force since July 2006.
      It grants every citizen access to documents produced in public administrations on demand. The right to
      access can be restricted if e.g. security or data protection issues are involved.
     The Universal Service Licence under the Telecommunications Law accorded to Swisscom Fixnet SA for
      the period of 2003-2007 fixes a certain quality of connection (analogue and ISDN) to be available for every
      household in Switzerland at an affordable price. The Universal Service Licence is under revision at present
      and will then, among other changes, include broadband access instead of ISDN. The public invitation to
      tender for the licence will be launched shortly. It will come into force on 1st January 2008.




IV.      Research in Practice
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 V.     e-Inclusion Actors
  An e-Inclusion network composed of members from public administrations and NGOs (working mostly in
      the fields of cultural diversity, equality for the handicapped and with senior citizens) has been formed and is
      drafting an e-Inclusion action plan until mid-2007.
     Some companies sponsor local or regional initiatives with an e-Inclusion focus and have done so in the past.

VI.     e-Inclusion Who is Who
 e-Inclusion sub group contact: :
  Mrs Hanna Muralt-Müller, e-Envoy of Switzerland. Federal Chancellery, Palais fédéral oust, CH-3003
     Bern
  Mrs Karin Stöckli, Mission suisse auprès des communautés européennes, 1, Pl du Luxembourg, 1050,
     Bruxelles
  Mrs Sabine Brenner, Koordinatorin Informationsgesellschaft Eidgenössisches Departement für Umwelt,
     Verkehr, Energie und Kommunikation UVEK, Bundesamt für Kommunikation BAKOM, Zukunftstrasse
     44, CH 2501 Biel
VII. e.Inclusion Progress by Riga Areas
ICT & Ageing
  Status in ICT & Ageing




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Internet users of 50 years of age and older are by far the least active group in the WWW in Switzerland. In
2006, about 37% of persons in this age group used internet regularly several times per week.

   Actions to support ICT& Ageing
   No federal institution undertakes any major actions to promote ICT usage among the elderly. Likewise,
    questions like using ICT to obtain a more satisfactory life/work balance for older workers or to prolong
    working life are not in the political discussion at present.
   Individual actions to raise awareness to the problems of ICT usage by the elderly and to help senior citizens
    with their various questions took place in the past. They were initiated by different actors and did not follow
    a general strategy
   Institutions working with the elderly like the association Pro Senectute promote ICT usage through special
    courses and attractive content on the web.
   A semi-private network of computer centers for the elderly has been established, the so-called
    “computerias”, where people can take part in a computer or internet course as well as meet others. Several
    companies have been sponsoring the computeria network.
   .

Geographic digital divide
 Status of Common access to electronic content and services
ICT Infrastructure and broadband penetration are very high in Switzerland. This is even the case for rural areas.
By the end of 2005, 98% of the Swiss population had the possibility to use a broadband access (ADSL and cable
modem). Some 23% of the population used broadband services at the end of 2005.
 Actions to support Common access to electronic content and services

The Federal Chancellery and several other Federal offices are being commissioned to draw up, by mid-2007, a
concept and an action plan which provide information on the objectives, the individual measures to be taken, the
costs, partnerships, procedures and timetable for the internal government use of electronic data and documents,
including e-mail, from their creation to their archiving. In the process, it must be clarified how production (from
procurement to archiving), administration, distribution and accessibility of electronic content for citizens and
businesses is to be regulated. The concept paper must additionally provide information regarding which content
is to be free of charge or subject to charges. Projects already under way for electronic archiving and for
electronic management must be continued in order to achieve the objective and must be taken into account in the
new conceptual work.
e-Accessibility
   There has been Swiss legislation on the accessibility of public websites since January 2004 when the
    Federal Law on the Abolition of Discriminations concerning People with Disabilities came in force. By the
    end of 2006 all federal websites were supposed to be accessible according to a Swiss standard compatible to
    and based on the W3C standards (AA). This aim was not completely met due to the diversity of systems in
    use. The introduction of a new Corporate Design at Federal level in 2006 includes accessible web design
    and is compulsory for all Federal departments, so by the end of 2007 any differences in this area should be a


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    thing of the past.
   Private actors launched a Swiss accessibility label for websites in August 2006, Label4all, cf.
    http://www.label4all.ch/en/index.html
 Actions towards e-Accessibility
A study on the state of accessibility of public websites will be concluded by June 2007. The study is authored by
the Swiss Foundation Access for All and co-financed by several actors from public administrations and the
private sector.

Digital Literacy and Competences
 Status on Digital Literacy and Competences




Individuals with only a basic education are more hesitant to use the internet than better the educated. In
Switzerland, 39% of individuals with basic formal education used the internet regularly several times a week, as
compared to 83% of individuals with a university education or similar (2006). Internet usage among the least
educated has picked up significantly between 2005 and 2006, though.
   Actions towards stimulating Digital Literacy and Competences
   The programme Public Private partnership School on the Net provides ICT training at obligatory school
    level for all and should in the medium run help to improve average ICT usage in Switzerland.
   Local or regional training programmes exist to help individuals with low ICT competences to insert
    themselves into the labour market.

e-Inclusion and Cultural Diversity
 Status on e-Inclusion and Cultural Diversity
   Fostering cultural diversity is regarded as a permanent task of Swiss Federal Cultural Policy.
   Culture is set as one of the measure in accordance to the new Information Society Strategy 2006.
   ICT allow new artistic forms of expression. They can additionally contribute to the promotion of cultural
    diversity and identity, linguistic diversity and the creation of local and regional content. The development
    and production of media art, its dissemination and education and training in its use and application must be
    supported. The emphasis must be placed on networking and partnerships of cultural producers, business,
    educational institutions and research.
   Multimedia and interactive possibilities must be used for the dissemination of culture. The inventories of
    libraries, archives, museums and collections must be opened up in such a way that they are accessible to all
    on the net. In this context, the cooperation of the Confederation and the cantons is key. As far as the
    Confederation’s own inventories are concerned, the principles elaborated as part of paragraph 4 of the
    strategy are to be applied analogously (e-government).
   The Federal Department of the Interior is being commissioned to consolidate the current measures to



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     promote media art and to push ahead with the preliminary work on electronic accessibility of inventories,
     with particular emphasis on examining its feasibility.
    All websites of the Swiss Federal authorities have to be in all 3 national languages (German, French,
     Italian). Many of them are available in English and the minority language Rumantsch as well. Most
     nationally active companies follow this example.
 Actions towards e-Inclusion and Cultural Diversity
Actions taking place are at local or regional, rather minor level, only so far.

Inclusive eGovernment
 Status on inclusive eGovernment
 In cooperation with the cantons and relevant federal offices the EFD (Federal Department of Finances)
   formulated a national e-government strategy in 2006. It includes measures for implementation.
   eAccessibility figures among the principles laid down in this strategy.

 Actions towards inclusive eGovernment
See above “Status on inclusive eGovernment:” The egovernment-strategy will have to be implemented as of
spring 2007 onwards. It is valid for 4 years.
VIII.     Challenges
The issue of digital inclusion has never been high on the political agenda in Switzerland, with the possible
exception of the WSIS preparation phase. At the moment the challenges are:
 to draft a realistic and manageable set of e-Inclusion guidelines and an action plan adapted to our
    circumstances
 to find the right actors to implement these documents
 to find political sponsorship for selected e-Inclusion topics




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