Written Statement - Launch of Digital Wales

Tomorrow I am publishing Delivering a Digital Wales, our strategy for ensuring that everyone in Wales enjoys the benefits of digital technologies.    

Delivering a Digital Wales has been developed under the stewardship of the Digital Wales Ministerial Steering Group and the advice of external stakeholders and the recently established Digital Wales Advisory Board.  It brings together a range of key cross-cutting activities relating to the use and promotion of digital technologies across 5 fundamental objectives:

1. An inclusive, sustainable and prosperous society - Empowering all citizens to be able to take advantage of digital technologies to enhance their quality of life;
2. Skilled and competent people - Ensuring that the people of Wales have the necessary skills and competencies, from basic digital literacy for all, to specialist ICT skills for industry;
3. A thriving and competitive Digital Economy - Promoting growth through wide scale application, innovation, commercialisation and exploitation of digital technologies by Welsh businesses and particularly the Welsh ICT and creative industries sector;
4. Transformed Public Services - Delivering public services that meet the rising public expectations and are citizen or customer focused, effective and efficient and less costly;
5. First class Digital Infrastructure - Ensuring Wales has the globally competitive, flexible, forward-looking digital infrastructure that underpins the delivery of a Digital Wales.

The strategy explores the challenges we face in each of the 5 themed areas and sets out major targets on a number of issues including building a world-class digital infrastructure.  We will publish detailed delivery plans for each of the 5 themes in the near future.

Delivering a Digital Wales reflects the importance and centrality of digital communications to our economy and our lives and seeks to help realise the benefits that digital technologies hold for the quality of life and well-being of Welsh citizens and for the prosperity and growth of our economy.

Achieving our vision will be challenging as digital technologies cut across nearly every strand of public and private sector activity.   The Digital Wales agenda presents an opportunity to be innovative and creative in our approach to developing solutions across a complex, cross-cutting agenda whose technological development continues to grow at a rapid pace.  It will only be through the integration of the key strategic objectives that we will be able to deliver our vision of a truly digital nation.

A stakeholder event is being held tomorrow at 3 Assembly Square, Britannia Quay, Cardiff Bay to formally launch Digital Wales.  I am pleased to be able to tell you that the First Minister will be launching this very important initiative, joined by the Deputy First Minister and myself.  

Delivering a Digital Wales will be available for download tomorrow at www.wales.gov.uk/digitalwales