Giving a Voice to the ‘Hard to Hear’ - Informing Digital Futures: Strategies for Citizen Engagement - page 83

5.3 Case Studies

Numerous case studies document the huge range of initiatives taking place
internationally to bridge the 'digital divide'. Many of these aim to provide
access to new digital technologies (mainly the Internet) to those who have
not previously had it. Through providing access to high speed communica-
tions and to information resources, such projects empower people to have
more control over aspects of their own lives. This enables individuals and
communities to participate in decision making that affects them. It would
be possible to write an entire topic on these exciting developments alone.
However the impact that such projects have on the shaping of new tech-
nologies is less well documented. Since this is the focus of this topic, we
have tried to select case studies which are related to new technology
(again, mainly the Internet). However several of the case studies have been
included because they represent good practice in engaging with specific
'hard to reach' groups rather than because they have a specific technology
shaping objective. Given the strong focus of activity on this topic at pre-
sent, the majority of the cases in this chapter are drawn from the UK.

Table 5.1. Case studies of ICTs use in Hard-to-Hear categories

Name of project Hard-to-hear category

UTOPIA
Surrey 50+ website
'Logged Off' - Carnegie Young People
Initiative
Online Surgeries for Young People
LOCOMOTION
WomenSpeak
Jamie's Big Voice

Older people aged over 60
Older people aged over 50
Young people

Young people
Elderly, disabled people
Women suffering domestic violence
The homeless

5.3.1 UTOPIA - UK

In 2002 the Department of Computing at the University of Dundee set up
the UTOPIA (2004) project (Usable Technology for Older People: Inclu-
sive and Appropriate) with the following objectives:
• to develop effective methods to involve people aged 60 and over early
in the development of ICT products;
• to provide tools to industry which would assist in the development of
ICTs for older people.