Bari: the Municipality obtains a loan of 520.000 euros to open 13 branches for citizens in the city

Bari: the Municipality obtains a loan of 520.000 euros to open 13 branches for citizens in the city.

Thanks to a loan of 520.000 euros obtained in response to the public notice addressed to the Municipalities for the creation of the regional network of digital facilitation points promoted by the Puglia Region and financed with resources from the PNRR - National Recovery and Resilience Plan - Measure 1.7.2 " Digital facilitation networks", the Municipality of Bari is preparing to activate a network of digital facilitation points in the city aimed at increasing the basic digital skills of the population and combating the digital divide.

The admission to funding from the Municipality of Bari was approved this morning by the council, on the proposal of the Councilor for Technological Innovation Eugenio Di Sciascio.

The general objective of the intervention is to increase citizens' basic digital skills to encourage the autonomous, conscious and responsible use of new technologies, promote the full enjoyment of active digital citizenship rights by all and encourage use of online services, simplifying the relationship with the public administration;

A digital facilitation point is, in fact, a physical place in which the citizens of Bari can be supported by digital facilitators in the use of the Internet and digital devices. The services that will be provided include individual and on-demand support activities for citizens in using the Internet and digital devices for operations that allow them to participate in social life (e.g. SPID, PagoPa, digital in common life) and training for an effective and pervasive national digital literacy.

“Italy is in 18th place among European countries according to the DESI index (Digital Economy and Society Index) which for ten years has measured the performance of each European country in the various aspects of digital innovation, from infrastructures to services , from the capabilities and skills of citizens on these issues – comments Eugenio Di Sciascio -. However, our country is 25th out of 27 in terms of citizens' digital skills: only 46% of the population has basic digital skills compared to a European average of 54%. We believe that the increase in this percentage plays a large part in the ability to grow and innovate, not only in the IT sector, but also in making our territory more attractive and capable of creating quality jobs. It is with this in mind that the Municipality of Bari has designed this innovative service, aiming to support citizens most exposed to the risks of the digital divide, for example the elderly, but more generally the segments of the population with less access to basic training opportunities in the digital field. Managing your digital identity, surfing the web consciously, recognizing fake news, making calls or video calls, making online purchases, using your banking services, the IO App or accessing the same e-government services available in the city: these are some of the activities that will engage the "digital facilitators" in the 13 points in the city with the aim of promoting basic digital skills and promoting digital inclusion.

The places in the city of Bari where the digital facilitation points will be located are:

1. URP Headquarters + InformaGiovani, via Roberto da Bari 1, 5 and 7

2. URP Municipality I Japigia, via Paolo Aquilino 1

3. URP Municipality I Libertà, via Trevisani 206

4. URP Municipality II Picone / Carrassi / Poggiofranco / San Pasquale / Mungivacca + Delegation, via Luigi Pinto 3

5. URP Municipality III San Paolo / Stanic / San Girolamo / Fesca / Marconi / Worker's Village, via Vincenzo Ricchioni 1

6. URP Municipality IV Carbonara / Ceglie / Loseto / Santa Rita, Piazza Umberto I Carbonara

7. URP Municipality V Palese / Santo Spirito / San Pio, Piazza Gianmarco Bellini, 1

8. URP reception point c/o Personal Services, Largo Chiurlia 27

9. URP reception point c/o Patrimonio division, viale Archimede 41

10. URP reception point c/o Educational and youth policies division, via Venezia 41

11. URP reception point c/o tax distribution, Corso Vittorio Emanuele 117

12. URP reception point c/o demographic services division, Largo Fraccacreta 1

13. URP reception point c/o demographic services delegation – Santo Spirito, via Fiume 8

Who are the digital facilitators?

The digital facilitator supports the development of basic digital skills in citizenship, contributing to the digital inclusion of the population that does not yet access the internet and its services and identifying the needs of individual citizens by providing them with support and guidance.

What services will be available?

· individual personalized training/assistance, generally provided by reservation, to accompany target citizens in the use of the Internet, technologies and digital public services;

· training in groups, in person and with online channels, through micro-courses useful for supporting citizens in applications/exercises, solving practical problems and any in-depth analysis;

· online training, through independent access to materials.

The aim of the project is to contribute to the growth of widespread digital skills for:

· encourage the autonomous, conscious and responsible use of new technologies;

· promote everyone's right to active digital citizenship;

· encourage the use of online services by private individuals and public administrations, simplifying the relationship between citizens and public administration.

· contribute to achieving the national goal of 70% of the population with basic digital skills by 2026.