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´óÏó´«Ã½ Online Access Champion and Controller, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Online

Speech given at National Digital Inclusion Conference

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The challenge

Nobody likes being excluded. That's just a fact. Yet, today nearly one-third of society is currently excluded – around 17 million adults are not using computers and the internet.

These 17 million are not part of the national or global conversations – they are unable to access Government services online, less able to find out information about their local community and unable to undertake activities such as finding and applying for jobs online.

And, as we shift ever faster to a knowledge based economy – exchanging ideas, information, music, games, images – the onus is on us to work together to find effective solutions to close the digital divide.

As Controller of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Online, responsible for the overall editorial direction and strategy for bbc.co.uk, I'm well placed to make a difference. Whatever level one is at, or whatever extent one wishes to interact, as a minimum, media or digital literacy material must be available.

I am passionate about bringing the benefits of getting online to as wide an audience as possible, and I am determined that the ´óÏó´«Ã½ will do more to encourage the unconnected to develop the skills they need.

How can the ´óÏó´«Ã½ help promote online access

The ´óÏó´«Ã½ has done a great deal in the past. The ´óÏó´«Ã½ has a strong track record in helping people join the communications revolution. Approximately one in 10 internet users cite ´óÏó´«Ã½ Online as one of the main reasons they first got connected, opening the door to a new world of skills and opportunities. But I believe we can do even more in the future.

This is why I agree with Lord Carter that the ´óÏó´«Ã½ must continue to play a key role, just as it has in digital broadcast, to support the take up of broadband and promote online access.

The ´óÏó´«Ã½ can provide unique scale; I know the programmes we make act as the access or touch points for audiences. What we need to do now is to look at what more we can achieve through our unique platform of television, radio and online services and also by acting as a catalyst for industry-wide partnerships.

And that's why I'm privileged to stand here today as the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s first Online Access Champion. I have three key priorities: make our services accessible and attractive and communicate the benefits and utility of being online, better understand audience needs and fears so we can ensure the tools we offer are relevant to their lives, and as a starting point play our part in maximising the strength of partnerships.

One of the first things I would like to do is explore how we can use the energy that partnerships bring to unlock what can be done to promote online access.

The ´óÏó´«Ã½ has a history of innovative partnerships: from Acorn and the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Micro, to our community buses which worked with local groups to bring new technology and the internet to hard to reach groups like the elderly and unemployed. We also did this through creative magic – projects such as Digital Storytelling, People's War and, over the last 18 months, piloting Memoryshare.

What we can do now is build on our existing partnership with libraries and explore the potential for further partnerships to provide on-the-ground support for those inspired to take their first steps into going online. The ´óÏó´«Ã½, through its literacy offer Raw, has also partnered with UK Online Centres. I am aware we can do more. We can do more to encourage access to content beyond the ´óÏó´«Ã½: from enabling higher traffic from our website to others; to opening up the iPlayer to other broadcasters; to sharing and syndicating ´óÏó´«Ã½ content more widely and using our broadcasts to tell people what's available online, excite their interest and overcome their fears.

Later this year, we will convene an Online access forum, further building on the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s existing relationships and partnerships across the sector.

My key priority will be to listen and hear what you have to say about the role we can play and how we might work together.

The second key priority is to gain a deeper understanding of audiences through new research.

This is why we are conducting new audience research to gain better insight of why different groups do not use the internet and what more can be done to stimulate take-up. We will share this research with government, Ofcom and other bodies working in the field.

This research will be invaluable in understanding the 17 million currently not connected – the barriers that are stopping them from getting online, and how we can work together to overcome them.

Thirdly and no less important : we will develop our services and work with our partners to make online services as accessible and attractive as possible to a wide audience, to communicate the benefits and to give people a reason to get online.

Accessibility is not an optional extra. We'll continue to improve our services to make them even more accessible, regardless of ability or disability. I'm talking here in terms of giving the user more control of display features such as font sizes, page layout, contrast and colour. The ´óÏó´«Ã½ has led the way in terms of accessible web pages – you can set all this up for yourselves from the accessibility link in the top left corner of the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s homepage.

What we will also do is explore what more can be done, such as:

• Developing new content and products unique to broadband that could encourage people to get online
• Supporting new internet users with advice on navigating the web
• Using our TV and radio programmes to drive interest in what the ´óÏó´«Ã½ and others already offer online
• Using developing platforms such as mobile and broadband-connected television (IPTV) as a means of getting internet content without needing a PC

I don't underestimate the scale of the challenge – but I'm inspired and energised by it and keen to get round the table with our partners and get to work.