Turbocharging the digital transformation process in Italy by encouraging the adoption of new technologies by an ever-widening pool of citizens: this is the ambitious goal behind “Operation Digital Risorgimento", TIM’s digital education project that will involve 1 million Italian citizens with training courses throughout all 107 Italian provinces.

TIM’s CEO Luigi Gubitosi presented the project which was launched today in Rome with an event attended by the Minister of Innovation Paola Pisano, the Minister for Public Administration Fabiana Dadone, the Minister for Regional Affairs and Autonomies Francesco Boccia and the Special Commissioner for the implementation of the Digital Agenda Luca Attias. A representation of the Mayors of the municipalities involved in the initiatives were also in attendance.

TIM Academy will lead a rich training program that involves more than 400 TIM coaches who will deliver over 20 thousand hours of teaching by the end of 2020, engaging associations, local social and meeting centres, sports clubs and senior centres, to spread the digital skills needed to take advantage of the great opportunities offered by the Internet.

The focus will be on those who have been left out of the digital economy and are in greater need of support in learning how to surf the web, communicate and access useful digital PA services such as sending certified emails, changing general practitioner, or paying bills online). Classes designed specifically for SMEs will also be hosted at the TIM Academies.

TIM’s CEO Luigi Gubitosi commented: “Today is the eve of the World Internet Day, a significant date to launch this great project through which we will meet people on the ground and teach them to take advantage of the Internet and other new technologies. We are proposing a great path of digital inclusion, so that no one is left behind when it comes to having the knowledge and the skills necessary to take advantage of the numerous opportunities that the ongoing digital transformation presents us in our everyday life”.

The project is aligned with the “Manifesto for the Digital Republic” launched by the Italian government through its Special Commissioner for the fulfilment of the Digital Agenda and has the support of the European Commission Representation in Italy and ANCI (National Association of Italian municipalities). It is open to other companies, institutions, public and private operators and aims to foster the creation of an ecosystem for networking and maximizing the opportunities for all citizens.

The project can be seen in the context of European rankings, which suggest that Italy still lags most EU countries in the use of digital services, despite the high level of infrastructure. About 18 million citizens, 30% of the population that is older than 6 years of age, have not used the Internet in the last year. One family out of four does not have an internet connection: of these families, 58% state that they are not connected because they do not know how to use it, while 21% do not use internet because they do not consider it useful [source: Istat, Citizens, Businesses and ICT, 2019].

TIM’s tour will travel throughout the country, stopping in municipalities with a population of between 10k and 60k for 3-week long courses on digital. A “mobile school” will be parked in the main squares of the municipalities to inform and involve citizens and businesses with dedicated coaching. The tour starts from Marsala, symbol of Italy’s Risorgimento, on 11 November before moving on to the other provinces of Sicily and then to the rest of Italy.

In each stage, a team of coaches will hold classroom courses, while a team of "digital facilitators" will hand out information from the mobile stations in the city squares. These will focus on how digital can contribute in improving everyday life: how to make an effective online search and how to surf the web in safety, how the net can help you save time, or to access digital PA services. But also managing emails, messaging apps, making online calls, using social networks, sharing information and photos, videos etc.

At the same time, educational workshops and classroom training activities will be held for citizens and municipal employees, both in TIM spaces and in other locations across the country identified together with local administrations and associations.