What is digital literacy and why does it matter for refugees?
Digital technologies can be a vehicle for refugees’ self-reliance — but only if communities are empowered to use them safely and effectively.
By Jenny Casswell, Digital Literacy and Essential Digital Skills Specialist
Digital technology can be a catalyst for positive change when individuals have the requisite digital literacy and skills to participate equally, meaningfully, and safely in the digital world. This is particularly true for forcibly displaced and stateless populations. Yet the digital literacy and skills gap among displaced people is lessening the likelihood of these groups benefiting from digital dividends. It is also threatening the viability of digital interventions, increasing the likelihood that communities in need of assistance will be left behind.
Concerted effort is needed to support the communities we work with and for to use technology effectively and safely, minimising their exposure to digital risk. Without action, it will be the most marginalised groups (including women, people with disabilities, older people, LGBTIQ+ people, minority ethnic groups) who experience the greatest risk of exclusion and digital harm.
Here, we unpack what we mean by digital literacy, present insights from the growing evidence base on this topic, and share how digital literacy and skills are a key part of UNHCR’s Digital Transformation Strategy.
This blog is the first instalment in a two-part series. The second instalment spotlights how UNHCR and our partners are thinking about and acting on digital literacy needs. Keep an eye out for that!
What do we mean by digital literacy and skills?
The field of digital literacy and skills is complex and not well coordinated. Historically, a lack of global consensus and no standard definition of relevant terms, has made design and implementation of digital literacy and skills interventions challenging, especially across low- and middle-income countries. The humanitarian sector has often taken ad-hoc approaches to enhancing the digital literacy and skills of forcibly displaced populations, with little concerted effort to learn from past interventions.
A good place to start is the distinction between ‘digital literacy’ and ‘digital skills’ (which has traditionally been poorly understood). ‘Digital skills’ tend to focus on the what and how — so, the technical aspect of using digital technologies. ‘Digital literacy’ is more focused on why, when, who and for whom — so, more complex and contextual questions. With technological advancements and proliferating digital risks, it is increasingly important for refugees’ digital competencies to span beyond operational/technical skill sets to ‘softer’ skills and creative problem solving, making the boundary between digital skills and digital literacy increasingly blurred. Some organizations have also started to introduce the concept of ‘digital fluency’, which alludes to the more advanced digital skills increasingly required for online employment.
To address these new realities, UNHCR — alongside several other organizations — is now incorporating digital skills into the wider umbrella of digital literacy. USAID’s ‘digital literacy’ definition (which builds on UNESCO’s definition) has been developed to be inclusive of low- and middle-income countries and to be device agnostic (in other words, inclusive of mobile phone technologies):
Digital literacy is the ability to access, manage, understand, integrate, communicate, evaluate and create information safely and appropriately through digital devices and networked technologies for participation in economic and social life.” — USAID, 2022
This approach is well suited to UNHCR’s operational contexts. ITU’s continuum of digital skills is also a helpful way to understand the topic — ranging from basic/foundational skills, including the ability to access the internet and search for content via an internet browser or apps, to more advanced digital skills like digital content creation, coding, and data science.
Understanding digital literacy levels
Data is powerful, and for a long time, data and evidence on digital literacy and skills in forced displacement settings was insufficient. In recent years, in-depth research with communities to understand their digital literacy levels, concerns, priorities, and needs, is changing this.
Last year GSMA and UNHCR set out to gain a more holistic understanding of how displacement affected communities are using their mobile phones, conducting research across three very different contexts: the North and Akkar governorates in Lebanon; Iowara refugee settlement in Western Province, Papua New Guinea; and Bor, South Sudan. One of the stand-out findings was that digital literacy and skills were a consistent barrier to digital inclusion for communities across all contexts.
For example, in Papua New Guinea, 64% of phone users who did not access the internet cited “not knowing how to use it by themselves” as the main reason. In Bor, South Sudan, one of the top three cited barriers to mobile ownership was low literacy and digital literacy levels. These were emphasised as particular barriers for those in the Bor Protection of Civilians camp, older people, and people with disabilities. In Papua New Guinea and South Sudan, low digital literacy and trust in mobile money systems led to fear over the security of funds and personal information, often resulting in low uptake and use of digital financial services.
“I don’t know much about phones, [let] alone mobile money. Even with the airtime transfer I don’t have much information. I could try to find out [if only] I had a phone.” — Internally displaced woman, Bor, South Sudan
Digital literacy for digital protection
Another key finding of the GSMA/UNHCR research was that low digital literacy not only prevented people using digital technology — it also increased the exposure of those who are using technology to digital risks.
Phishing messages and calls were a major concern for mobile phone owners with limited digital literacy in Papua New Guinea, who feared being exploited financially. Stories of people receiving extortionary messages were common. Several people reported that elderly and less-educated phone users were particularly vulnerable and had lost money after being invited to purchase additional credit to enter a (fake) prize draw.
While communities in northern Lebanon are typically more aware of ways to mitigate the risk posed by scams, aid-related scams were still common, and false information about humanitarian services or aid distribution made it more challenging to deliver and access services. 11% of phone users who were targeted by a scam reported being harmed by that scam — for example, by paying to access fake resettlement schemes, wasting time, or pursuing false information on humanitarian assistance.
Such evidence adds weight to previous UNHCR research in Uganda, which found that refugees often feel powerless to protect themselves against online threats and digital risks.
“We see a lot of users at the [connected community] centre leaving their accounts open and logged in. We’re receiving an increasing number of requests from community members to help them improve their digital skills, like showing them how to sign off securely and keep their details private.” — Humanitarian worker, Uganda
This increasing body of evidence demonstrates why focusing on digital literacy and skills is critical to our work at UNHCR, and indeed to any digital humanitarian interventions.
Factoring digital literacy into UNHCR’s organizational practice
UNHCR’s Digital Transformation Strategy (2022–2026) provides a unified vision and approach to realising the rights of refugees to digital inclusion and protection, as well as transforming the way the organization uses digital channels and technology to achieve its strategic objectives. The Strategy is designed to improve the way UNHCR delivers its work digitally.
The Strategy identifies Digital Inclusion, Digital Protection and Digital Services as priority outcome areas — and digital literacy is a prerequisite to all three outcome areas. Benefits to individuals’ lives from enhanced digital literacy are diverse and extend beyond direct digital services provided by UNHCR to span economic, educational, political, civic, social, and creative or leisure benefits.
To achieve these outcome areas, digital programming must therefore go beyond ensuring access to connectivity, digital devices, and digital services, to support the development of digital skills and digital literacy among communities we work with and for.
Keep an eye out for part 2 in this series to see how UNHCR teams are thinking about and acting on digital literacy needs.
Read UNHCR’s new Digital Literacy Concept Note, learn more about UNHCR’s Digital Innovation Programme, and access UNHCR’s Digital Transformation Strategy.
