DIGITAL INCLUSION AS A MEDIATED PROCESS: A PARTICIPATORY STUDY OF DIGITAL LEARNING SUPPORT WITHIN FINKLUSIV'S DIGITAL BRIDGE BUILDERS' INITIATIVE: A PARTICIPATORY STUDY OF DIGITAL LEARNING SUPPORT WITHIN FINKLUSIV'S DIGITAL BRIDGE BUILDERS' INITIATIVE
Translated title
DIGITAL INCLUSION AS A MEDIATED PROCESS: A PARTICIPATORY STUDY OF DIGITAL LEARNING SUPPORT WITHIN FINKLUSIV'S DIGITAL BRIDGE BUILDERS' INITIATIVE
Author
Dey, Progya Permita
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2026
Submitted on
2026-06-04
Abstract
In an increasingly digital world, businesspeople are expected to work with online platforms, administrative systems, and digital communication tools. For entrepreneurs with migrant and refugee backgrounds, these processes can be particularly challenging because of language barriers, different institutional systems, and varying levels of experience with digital technologies. Digital inclusion is often described in terms of access to technology and digital skills, but there is less focus on how to develop learning support that enables people to actually use these systems in practice. This thesis examines the development of digital learning support in the Digital Bridge Builders project at Finklusiv, which works with underbanked entrepreneurs with migrant or refugee backgrounds in Denmark. Here, underbanked refers to entrepreneurs who have limited access to conventional banking and financial services. The study focuses on the volunteer training phase, where volunteers are introduced to digital tools, learning materials, and support practices designed to help entrepreneurs navigate digital systems. Using a techno-anthropological approach and applying postphenomenology as an epistemological framework (that is, a way of understanding how humans, technologies, and the world shape each other), the thesis analyzes how digital learning support is created through the interaction of technologies, materials, volunteers, and workshops. The empirical material consists of video resources, webpages, presentation materials, transcriptions, and workshop observations. The results show that digital inclusion is about more than technology and technical skills. In the workshop discussions, there was a strong emphasis on the importance of communication, trust, language, and understanding of institutional systems. The thesis argues that meaningful digital participation emerges through context-sensitive learning support and collaborative engagement, and should be seen as part of a broader process of digital inclusion shaped by technologies, social interaction, and learning practices.
I en stadig mere digitaliseret verden forventes det, at erhvervsdrivende bruger onlineplatforme, administrative systemer og digitale kommunikationsværktøjer i deres arbejde. For iværksættere med migrant- og flygtningebaggrund kan disse processer være særligt udfordrende på grund af sprogbarrierer, anderledes institutionelle systemer og forskellige erfaringer med digitale løsninger. Digital inklusion omtales ofte som et spørgsmål om adgang til teknologi og digitale færdigheder, men der tales mindre om, hvordan man udvikler læringsstøtte, der gør det muligt rent faktisk at bruge disse systemer i praksis. Specialet undersøger udviklingen af digital læringsstøtte i projektet Digital Bridge Builders hos Finklusiv, som arbejder med underbankede iværksættere med migrant- eller flygtningebaggrund i Danmark. Underbanket betyder her, at iværksætterne har begrænset adgang til almindelige bank- og finansielle tjenester. Undersøgelsen fokuserer på frivilligtræningen, hvor frivillige bliver introduceret til digitale værktøjer, læringsmaterialer og støttepraksisser, der skal hjælpe iværksættere med at navigere i digitale systemer. Ud fra en techno-antropologisk tilgang, hvor postfænomenologi bruges som erkendelsesramme (dvs. en måde at forstå, hvordan mennesker, teknologi og verden påvirker hinanden), analyseres, hvordan digital læringsstøtte skabes i samspillet mellem teknologier, materialer, frivillige og workshops. Det empiriske materiale består af videomateriale, hjemmesider, præsentationer, transskriptioner og observationer fra workshops. Resultaterne viser, at digital inklusion er mere end blot teknologi og tekniske færdigheder. I workshops blev der især lagt vægt på betydningen af kommunikation, tillid, sprog og forståelse af institutionelle systemer. Specialet foreslår, at meningsfuld digital deltagelse opstår gennem kontekstfølsom læringsstøtte og fælles engagement og bør forstås som del af en bredere proces af digital inklusion, der formes af teknologi, sociale relationer og læringspraksisser.
[This abstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
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