The Department of Internal Affairs, in partnership with the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, launched the Digital inclusion user insights – Former refugees and migrants with English as a second language report. This is the latest in a series of reports published by the Department of Internal Affairs that call attention to the need to consider the user experiences of the most often digitally excluded communities.
While an English version of the report was published in November last year, a launch for the report was held via ZOOM on 24 March to mark the translation of the report’s summary into the 11 languages spoken by the participants in the research.
Former refugees and marginalised migrants with English as a second language have been identified as one of the most often digitally excluded groups. They are also one of the target groups that received less support from government initiatives compared to others.
The report includes personal insights and identifies barriers, challenges and pain points of this group’s digital inclusion journey while considering their settlement experience in Aotearoa New Zealand at different time periods.
The research found that access and skills are the 2 main barriers to digital inclusion. A lower English language proficiency, cultural barriers and lower socio-economic status are other factors forming impediments to digital inclusion for this group.
The report includes key findings and research recommendations (not government policy) for government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to consider in order to improve digital inclusion for former refugees and marginalised migrants in New Zealand.
The team at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities played a key role in the foundational mahi and engagement necessary for this research.
The full report and a summary are available on the digital.govt.nz website.
Summaries of the report in the 11 languages spoken by the participants in the research are available on the Ministry for Ethnic Communities website.
To learn more about the purpose of this report, how the Department of Internal Affairs and the Ministry for Ethnic Communities collaborated to put it together and the lessons the teams learnt along the way, visit the digital.govt.nz website.