Information and Communication Technologies and the Social Capital in Finland

Anna Przybylska

English version of the article

In Finland the state policy towards the ICT sector development has got a strong social component. The aim of this article is to present the characteristics of the projects which using the ICT tools address the problems of social exclusion, discursive space, and social and political participation. The aforementioned subjects will be discussed in the context of local programmes being developed in Tampere, Oulu and Upper Karelia Region. The interviews collected from the researchers involved in the projects allow a better understanding of everyday practice in these specific programmes, as well as the evaluation of their successes and some problems.

KEYWORDS

ICT, digital divide, local communities, social exclusion, social and political participation