！EC President Barroso Became 9 Millionth ICDL Candidate

President of EC Barroso received 9 Millionth ICDL Skills Card to highlight the importance of digital literacy for employability and sustainable economic growth

Brussels, 12^th February 2009:  José Manuel Barroso, President of European Commission received the 9 millionth ICDL Skills Card at a ceremony highlighting both the success of the ICDL programme and the necessity of keeping investment in digital skills high on the public policy agendas of all Member States in order to increase employability and build a competitive European economy.

Accepting the ICDL Skills Card, President Barroso stressed that digital literacy skills are essential for Europeans and stated that the Commission is proud to have been at the origin of the ‘great work of the ICDL programme’ and its ‘amazing’ progress in reaching 9 million Skills Cards. President Barroso noted that ‘digital literacy is part of basic competences such as reading and writing and that this is the message the Commission is conveying to all European citizens; in this difficult economic situation many workers will need to be re-trained and the digital competences they can gain will help them find new opportunities for a better life’.

To help address the economic situation, the Commission has launched the European Economic Recovery plan which calls for ‘smart investment’ to yield higher growth and sustainable prosperity in the longer-term.  It calls on Member States to invest more in education and re-training to protect Europe’s citizens from the worst of the economic crisis.

As part of this plan, the European Commission has proposed a €1billion investment to bring broadband to rural areas.  However unless this investment is supplemented with IT training, Europe risks an additional widening of the digital divide in areas where digital literacy levels already lag behind the European average according to a 2008 Eurostat report which indicated that in 2007, 49% of citizens in sparsely populated areas never used the internet.

Speaking at the event, Jim Friars, Chairperson of the ECDL Foundation Board, noted that ICDL is a true European success story, outlining how the original concept was developed with the support of EC funding. By presenting the ICDL Skills Card to President Barroso, ECDL Foundation recognises the Commission’s work to empower individuals by creating better employment opportunities and an inclusive information society. Damien O’Sullivan, Chief Executive Officer of ECDL Foundation noted that ECDL Foundation is proud to present the 9 millionth skills card to President Barroso to highlight the organisation’s success in delivering digital literacy to Europe. Yet with 40% of Europeans still without the basic skills needed to use the Internet, much remains to be done. Mr O’Sullivan underlined the commitment of ECDL Foundation to the objectives of the i2010 Strategy as digital literacy is a key enabler for building an inclusive information society and a knowledge-based economy.

For details of the i2010 Strategy mid-term review, please visit
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/eeurope/i2010/mid_term_review_2008/index_en.htm

The video of the ceremony is available at: http://www.ecdl.org/barroso

About ECDL Foundation
ECDL Foundation is the global standards and certification body for the ECDL and ICDL end-user computer skills certification programmes.  It’s a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to raising the level of computer skills in society and providing access for all to the Information Society.  With over 9 million candidates participating in a range of programmes, ECDL Foundation has set the global benchmark in end-user skills certification.

About ICDL China
ICDL China, based in Beijing, is the current national licensee of the ICDL programme in the mainland China.  ICDL China is responsible for all ICDL-related matters, covering the auditing and management of the Approved Test Centres as well as marketing of the ICDL concept and tests in China.