The main objective of the workshop was to provide a platform for initial discussions on e-inclusion and the relevant major ethical issues at stake. The meeting was opened by Dr. Paul Timmers, from the European Commission, DG INFSO, who welcomed the great number of participants and provided a general overview of the Commission’s e-Inclusion policy. He emphasised that the workshop would focus on ethics and e-inclusion in general, so that participants would not feel restricted to discussions on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) or Research and Development (R&D).

Several issues were raised during the workshop and have set the grounds for future discussions. It was unanimously agreed that technology has to be trustworthy, secure, reliable, and that people should be able to opt out without being disadvantaged in any way. Furthermore, it was stated that ICT should give users choices and accommodate their needs rather than the other way around.

All in all, it was agreed that ethics is a dynamic that has to be taken into consideration in the context of the information and communication society. Moreover, ethics is not just about privacy issues. In fact, there is an open list of ethical considerations when it comes to technology and society. We must establish ranking criteria to determine which are the most important to us in ethical terms.

The main conclusions that were drawn during the workshop will be recorded in a report and made publicly available on the e-inclusion pages of the European Commission’s website.

The workshop will be followed by a second one in May 2008 where a larger number of stakeholders will be invited to take part in a high-level discussion as part of the i2010 Conference under the Slovenian presidency.

Mirela-Alina Gica, Insafe