Digital Skills, Inclusion, and Online Safety
A fundamental pillar of Telenor’s responsible business approach is digital inclusion for all. We are committed to equipping people with the resources, knowledge and skills they need in an accelerated digital future, excluding no one.
In an increasingly digitalised world, technology offers opportunities for growth, tackling social challenges and bridging inequality gaps.
An estimated 2.6 billion people in the world remain unconnected. In many cases, those who are connected still face challenges in accessing reliable and affordable services. Connectivity is the first step toward inclusion. We deliver affordable, essential connectivity services – opening the digital door of possibilities to millions.
Digital services hold the potential to improve lives by addressing social, economic, and environmental issues. Key skills needed for the future include cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity. These are areas where Telenor is investing to drive connectivity and digital inclusion, helping build a digitally prepared society. Inclusion is also a top priority for Telenor as an employer, seeing diversity as an essential ingredient to innovate and challenge.
Building Skills
Telenor has ongoing projects in several markets, building key future skills for young people, especially girls, allowing more people to take advantage of the opportunities offered by connectivity.
We have set ourselves a target by 2025 to train and digitally include 6 million people (baseline 2021). To achieve this, we run a series of programmes under the theme of Building Skills for an Accelerated Digital Future for children and youth, and special focus on women-led small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and marginalised groups, helping them access tools and resources for success in the digital economy.
The programmes are intended to:
Include the digitally excluded
Impart skills needed to excel in the future
Ensure a safe online experience for all.
Safety and Security Online
For us, online safety and safeguarding customers when they use our services is at the heart of what we do. In all our markets, we work with our partners to help make the internet a safer, inclusive space.
We never compromise on privacy and security and are always striving towards new solutions and services to protect our customers. We are guided by transparency and accountability in our operations, and our Code of Conduct is the platform that guides us.
Digital inclusion has long been a cornerstone of our responsible business conduct. With remote working, distance learning, telemedicine, and other remote services increasing at unprecedented rates, it is more important than ever to ensure access to essential services, supporting online safety and the acquisition of necessary skills in a digitalised future.
Empowerment through global partnerships
Telenor's Global Sustainability Partnerships with UNICEF and Plan International are central to achieving our goal of digital inclusion. These partnerships aim to develop digital skills, particularly for children, youth and vulnerable communities. We focus on empowering the digitally excluded, providing future-ready skills and ensuring safe online experiences.
Telenor has many digital skills projects across our operations. Examples include a collaboration in Bangladesh with Plan International to enhance digital skills and resilience for 2.35 million girls and youth. In Pakistan, the Taleemabad project, in partnership with UNICEF, delivers adaptive learning content aligned with the school curriculum. In Norway, the Girls Create Tech mentorship programme empowers high school girls by offering hands-on learning in artificial intelligence (AI) and coding. FutureNation is a collaboration of UNDP Bangladesh, Grameenphone, and BIDA, which empowers young individuals by providing essential skills, access to meaningful employment and support for entrepreneurial endeavours.
Read more in-depth about our digital skills projects globally in our 2023 Annual Report (from p. 80).
Risks and opportunities in digitalisation
While digitalisation opens doors for universal access and skill development, it also brings challenges. Expanding digital services to unconnected or underserved communities not only creates opportunities for Telenor but also helps build a more inclusive digital future. Our mission is to equip people with the skills and knowledge they need, ensuring that no one is left behind in this accelerated digital landscape.
The risks associated with digitalisation, especially for vulnerable groups, cannot be ignored. Groups such as children and seniors are more exposed to cyberbullying, fraud, harmful content and other online threats.
At Telenor, we are actively working to reduce these risks through innovative safety programmes and by raising awareness around online safety. Protecting vulnerable groups is not just a responsibility, but an opportunity to create a safer, more inclusive internet for all.
Combating child sexual abuse online
Telenor is committed to preventing and helping combat child sexual abuse online and is part of GSMA’s Mobile Alliance Against Child Sexual Abuse Content, seeking to create significant barriers to the misuse of mobile networks and services for hosting, accessing, or profiting from child sexual abuse material. Telenor’s Nordic operations engage with local police and Interpol to implement domain-based filtering of known CSAM lists. On a global level, Telenor is raising awareness through online safety programmes in several markets. One example is in Pakistan where Telenor and UNICEF have collaborated in a project particularly focused on child protection when it comes to CSAM.
Thought leadership for future skills
Telenor is continuing to develop thought leadership in the area of building future skills by bringing together various stakeholders, learnings and available research. Our ambition is to be an inclusive partner in building future skills.