Activities Digital Inclusion

Since 2000, Deutsche Telekom’s Telekom@School project has been providing general and vocational schools nationwide with internet accesses for teaching purposes. Participating schools receive the accesses either free of charge or at a considerably reduced price, depending on the access bandwidth .

Telekom 4 the University of Montenegro

(Crnogorski Telekom)

„Teachtoday“ is a practically oriented online learning and teaching resource, with something to offer for just about anyone, including children, young people, parents, grandparents – and teachers. Available in a total of seven languages, „Teachtoday“ is internationally oriented, and it covers best-practice projects in many different countries. In a Toolbox section, „Teachtoday“ offers all kinds of interesting project ideas, video tutorials, exciting quizzes and tasty learning “tidbits” and “morsels.” In 2022, its content focus was on how to deal with online hate speech.

„SCROLLER“ is a digital magazine for children between the ages of nine and 12. It promotes safe, competent use of digital media via a range of features, including fascinating and inspiring stories; a diverse range of audio and video pieces; puzzles; and interactive content.

According to a Vice Media Group study carried out in 2022, some 82 percent of all young people worldwide between the ages of 18 and 30 work in some sort of volunteer capacity. Deutsche Telekom wants to promote volunteer efforts to help other people and make the world a better place. With its #WhatWeValue campaign, it is now working to promote social commitment on the part of young people throughout Europe.

On a platform developed especially for this purpose, whatwevalue.telekom.com, volunteers can present their projects and connect with others with similar interests and focuses – and attract additional supporters. In addition, platform users can support the featured projects (100 to date) by sharing, liking, and/or following them. The ten projects that the #WhatWeValue community shows it appreciates the most, via its interactions, will receive special Deutsche Telekom project subsidies of 35 000 euros.

The Initiative is being promoted on the leading social media platforms for Gen Z, including Twitch , Snapchat, and TikTok. The relevant campaign is now underway in Deutsche Telekom’s nine European footprint countries in  – Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Czech Republic, North Macedonia, and Montenegro

A lack of young people entering STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) fields is presenting risks for Germany’s economic future. If the numbers of qualified applicants for vocational training careers and study programs in STEM fields are to be significantly increased – with a view to safeguarding our future prosperity – we need to be looking at all potential sources of talent, and working to eliminate barriers to learning and education. The MINT Zukunft schaffen (STEM – Creating the future) initiative is working to quantitatively and qualitatively improve teaching and learning in STEM subjects at schools and universities. In addition, it is promoting digitalization in education, and honoring schools that emphasize STEM education.

The MINT Zukunft schaffen (STEM – Creating the future) association is working publicly to help young people, parents, teachers, and the public at large form positive opinions of STEM fields and their potential. Deutsche Telekom AG is one of its founding members. Its main target audiences include school students of all ages, and students in higher education, including new enrollees.

Smart School and “erlebe IT” (experience IT) are initiatives of the German digital association Bitkom e.V. (Federal Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media) that are supported by Deutsche Telekom.

With Smart School, Bitkom is working to promote modern education, and to advance the digital transformation at Germany’s schools. Each year, the initiative honors “smart schools” that are leading the way in digital education, and showing what schools might look like in the future.

Since 2009, the association’s “erlebe IT” (experience IT) initiative has been working to strengthen digital competence at schools. The initiative provides interactive instruction materials aimed at helping school students use digital technologies competently and at helping teachers teach with digital tools.

The workshops held during the Code Week events introduced participants to the basics of app design – from idea to prototype.

The Code Week events provide a perfect opportunity for teachers to try their hand at programming. From October 7 to 24, 2022, Deutsche Telekom opened selected stores for these events, which included 90-minute workshops on programming with the „Swift Playgrounds“ app.    

By learning to program, students can learn valuable skills that can help them put their own ideas into action and enact real change in the world. Apple developed „Swift Playgrounds“ as a tool that supports learners throughout the entire app-creation process, from the first line of code to the final app.

Deutsche Telekom’s #DABEI-Geschichten (#TAKEPART stories) initiative is designed to help people learn about the digital world. It is aimed at multipliers who wish – as non-experts – to inform groups of young people or adults about digital phenomena. In the year under review, it focused especially on the topic of online hate speech.

The association Deutschland Sicher im Netz e.V. (DsiN) was established in 2006, at the first National IT summit (now: Digital Summit). DsiN is a non-profit alliance that helps consumers and small companies to use digital solutions with confidence and skill. In cooperation with its members and partners, DsiN offers concrete assistance, and interactive learning resources, for people in private settings and in the workplace.

In 2022, DsiN began offering training leading to a “digital driver’s license” (Digitalführerschein – DiFü) certification. The training, which is suitable for all age groups and social groups, teaches and reinforces online media literacy and security skills. DiFü certification, which is now recognized nationwide, attests to the ability to use online media and services securely and competently, in both private and workplace contexts.

Right from the beginning, Deutsche Telekom has supported DsiN in implementing and designing projects, and it has served on the organization’s executive board.

The association Nummer gegen Kummer e.V. is a competent point of contact that children, young people, and parents can turn to in connection with large and small problems, concerns, and fears. All calls to its helplines are free of charge. The relevant call charges are borne by Deutsche Telekom, which has been a cooperating partner of Nummer gegen Kummer e.V. since 1991.

The TelefonSeelsorge® crisis line is available to everyone, regardless of age, including working people, housewives and househusbands, apprentices and retired people. It is open to people of all religions, as well as for people with no church affiliation. Each year, working around the clock, and free of charge, it handles about a million calls. Deutsche Telekom assumes all the charges for calls made via the crisis line’s two 0800 numbers.

Ukraine relief campaign: Telephone and Internet services

Special tariff for people with disabilities and for NGOs caring for people with disabilities

(Crnogorski Telekom)  

Inclusion program for people with hearing impairment

(T-Mobile Czech Republic)

Online speech transcription is a service that exerts a hugely positive impact on the quality of life of people who have lost their hearing or are losing it, and who are unable to use sign language. These people have to contend with huge communication barriers. T-Mobile Czech Republic makes all shops accessible to hearing-impaired people. Shop assistants are equipped with a mobile App providing online speech transcription. Moreover, we also made our infoline accessible with speech transcription. Based on our experience, online speech transcription is not only used by hearing-impaired people, but also by elderly people and foreigners who are more confident if communication is simultaneously transcribed as well. Our financial support enables a social enterprise to provide these services and employ visually impaired typists.

Deutsche Telekom has operated its Deaf Hotline for many years now. In sign language via videochat, the hotline provides information and advice, on all Deutsche Telekom products, for persons who are deaf or have hearing disorders. Customers can also use the hotline if they have questions regarding bills or contracts. Calls are taken by three hearing-impaired Deutsche Telekom employees.

Generations Together

(Hrvatski Telekom)

The digital education program “Generations Together” was launched in cooperation with the Volunteer Center Zagreb and it aims to enable senior citizens to acquire useful digital skills.

It was developed in response to the pandemic that hit the elderly population the hardest, especially residents of nursing homes who were not able to meet family members during that period.

Over the past three years, Hrvatski Telekom has donated tablets and free Internet, and organized training sessions so seniors could learn how to use digital tools, for example setting up WhatsApp video calls.
In addition to the basic tools, they also acquired further knowledge about various Apps of interest to them, updating data, and similar issues.

More than 1 500 retirees have been covered by the program so far, and members of the Hrvatski Telekom Group Volunteer Club have also participated.

Network of Generations

The aim of the Telekom-Seniors’-Academy for 2022 was to hold workshops in Deutsche Telekom’s flagship stores, and at facilities of relevant associations, aimed at supporting seniors in going online successfully and in using digital devices such as tablets.

The project staff definitely have a heart for seniors, and they bring empathy and competence to their work! With this format, and applying a concept of its own design, Deutsche Telekom has been carrying out workshops for seniors since March 2022. The events are offered at the company’s stores (T-Shops) and in cooperation with senior citizens’ associations. From March through December 2022, the Telekom-Seniors’-Academy held over 30 workshops, and all were well-received by the senior citizens’ associations and by the seniors themselves. As of early December 2022, more than 30 requests for workshops in the first quarter of 2023 had been received, from a total of over 20 senior citizens’ associations. This excellent response is due in large measure to the successful work and newsletter communication carried out by the German National Association of Senior Citizens’ Organisations (BAGSO), as well as to relevant publicity provided via the newsletter from Wege aus der Einsamkeit e. V. (Getting in touch with other people).   

Courses for digital skills at senior centers

(T-Mobile Czech Republic)

Hello Biznisz

(Magyar Telekom)

The goal of the Hello Biznisz (Hello Business) program is to help domestic small businesses navigate the maze of business administration, workforce management, marketing, sales and finance. Magyar Telekom helps businesses to process issues by providing practical news and information in written and video format on the program's website.

In the summer of 2021, the Plan D program (D terv) to support the digital development of domestic SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses) was launched on the Hello Business educational platform. In 2020, the epidemic situation demonstrated that digitalization can be an easier way to prosper, indeed often the only way. Entrepreneurs are now well aware of the importance of digital tools and solutions, but not all small businesses are still confident about using them. And other businesses remain averse to deploying them at all. When businesses receive assistance from the Telekom Hello Business D plans, they have access to easy-to-use, copyable, practical guides. Businesses are also given ready-made digital case studies with a proven track record. These materials are available to anyone free of charge on the program's website.   

CODIGOS

(T-Systems Mexico)

CODIGOS (Digital Constellations with a Social Objective) came into being as an initiative of T-Systems Mexico, in collaboration with other telecoms-sector companies, to promote Social Impact Ventures. These are based on information technologies and aim to achieve one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals .

It is an initiative of T-Systems Mexico driven by support from important information and digital technology companies. The project seeks to identify, strengthen and promote ventures with social objectives and a technological base to create solutions for a new, more digital, accessible and inclusive reality. The objective is to generate digital solutions that contribute to building a better society and help reduce inequality gaps without leaving anyone behind. Digital-based ventures promoted by CODIGOS are helping to address some of the most urgent challenges for society.

CODIGOS seeks to identify the energy, talent, and creativity of entrepreneurs and their startups in Mexico in order to promote digital-based social impact projects in the areas of health, education, employment, sustainability, renewable energy, industry, innovation, infrastructure, reduction of inequalities, and finance for the benefit of the most vulnerable members of the population.

The Equal eSports initiative is a joint project of Deutsche Telekom, SK Gaming, and the esports player foundation. It was launched in 2021. The initiative works to promote equity and equal opportunity for female and non-binary players in esports and gaming. The main aim of the Equal eSports initiative is to create positive role models – and thereby bring about positive changes in society as a whole. Its mission statement is “We drive equality by creating role models in esports that enable a movement in society.”

In 2022, the initiative provided holistic support (coaching, sports program, psychological support, nutrition counseling, etc.) for some 30 female and non-binary talents. In addition, it was involved in the following: the Equal eSports Festival, Vol. 2; eight boot camps held by our partners; workshops at Telekom Shops; a mentoring program with female role models for esports talents; and a selection camp at Deutsche Telekom Headquarters in which 20 new talents were selected from a total of 35 candidates.

ENTER 2022

(Slovak Telekom)

Girls’Day

Global Digital Women