Mission

Forum of the Hungarian IT Organizations for Information Society (Inforum)

Forum of the Hungarian IT Organizations for Information Society (Inforum) is a Non Governmental Organization, which aims at establishing and developing Information Society in Hungary. Inforum represents the interests of business orientated and non-profit organizations working on the field of IT, of individuals and of IT users. Inforum is an umbrella organization of Hungarian IT Organizations.

Today Inforum counts 19 members (Associations, Foundations, Universities).

Short description

Inforum since 1997 considers it to be its task to achieve that IT be widely used by the society. Inforum in the interest of spreading digital literacy throughout the society through the publication of books, a series of intergeneration events (Grandchild-Grandparent IT Competitions: 2003 – …), by setting up a user protection office (Inforum-Infomediátor, 2004), a user supporting portal (50plusz.NET, 2008) and the establishment of a knowledge base (eInclusion.hu, 2007) assists the spreading of the information society and equal opportunities. In year 2007 Inforum initiated in Hungary the e-Inclusion Movement, and in year 2008 it launched the Digital Hungary Spring event series. Inforum actively participated in the establishment of the Office of the IT Commissioner (2000), the IT and Telecommunication Committee of the Hungarian Parliament (2000), the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication (2002), and the Special Parliamentary Committee for e-Inclusion (2008). In year 2009 Inforum prepared its first education film series, which introduces through 30 steps the use of computers, the internet and online services. Inforum recently published its new study: „Open points of view to new Strategy of Information Society: Standard of Living and Profit”. The European Community acknowledged the work of Inforum by awarding it an eInclusion Gold Medal in 2008.

Concrete goals

To bridge the digital gap (focus on seniors)
To enhance the electronic inclusion (eInclusion) of minorities, disadvantaged persons and the elderly
To protect the rights of the IT users
To minimize the detrimental phenomena of the Internet in Hungary, such as spam, virus, illegal contents.
To establish and to develop the information society in Hungary
To represent the interests of business orientated and of non-profit organizations working on the field of IT, of private individuals and of IT users.

Interest representation activities

a.) Participation in the legislation:

b.) Discussion about industry policy with governmental organizations

Programs, activities, and services that Inforum provides

2005-ongoing: Information Society Mentor Program – Informatics sector as an employer (EQUAL project). Within this project we provide informatics training for 40 unemployed people. Our purpose is to reintegrate our target group into the labor market, and to train them to be able to transmit to other employees up-to-date informatics knowledge.

2003-ongoing: Grandparents-Grandchildren Competition of Informatics. The first competition take place in 2003 and 9 competition have been organized so far: in Budapest, in Kecskemét, and Miskolc. Altogether 1200 families participated in the competitions. Inforum for many years has been fighting for seniors to be equal citizens of the Information Society. In the course of Grandparents-Grandchildren Informatics Competitions, which became a tradition, it had been proven that this event, which is based on the connection of technology and human beings, not only allows the playful competition between generations, but promotes the development of Information Society.

The Inforum’s main document is the Hungarian Charter of Information Technology [Magyar Informatikai Charta] (2000), which summarized at the time of the eEurope programs but independently of those and still parallel to them the proposals of the Hungarian IT sector how to develop the Hungarian information society.

IT User Prevention Program (Infomediator Office – Hungarian Internet Ombudsman)

Establish an office for right protection of Internet users, and mediation services, by own contribution. The role is as Hungarian Internet Ombudsman.

The user protection program of the Inforum, similar to the positive western European examples, aims to provide to the users over its homepage a wide range of informative services concerning services of the information society. Further it gives advices to those who were treated unjust by using an information society service about the different possibilities on enforcement and legal remedies and it also operates quick and effective alternative dispute settlement forums.

it provides comprehensive professional advice services to the complex handling of the interests of the information society users,
it participates in discovering the service providers causing harm to the users and in looking for solutions –even if they are only temporarily – to the problems,
it runs an extensive system of forums for alternative dispute settlement and offers an effective, fast and professional dispute settlement. By doing this it on the one hand significantly reduces the number of the disputes solved by the traditional state judicial bodies or If the judicial way in unavoidable it helps the judicial bodies to a faster decision finding, by preparing the case for them,
during its activities it fully makes use of the internet publicity by informing the users thoroughly, by publishing the achievements with regard especially to the good and to the bad labelling and it sets up a prestige list to qualify the service providers which serves as a special guarantee to the users.

Book, articles and publications

The Key To Central and Eastern Europe (1998)
Hungarian Charter of Information Technology (2000)
Hírvilág by István Váncsa (2001) A book in Hungarian Language about Information Society for seniors
Growing up Digital by Don Tapscott in Hungarian Language (2001)
InfoRoom – CD-ROM about the Information Technology in Hungary (2001)
Series of articles in the biggest Hungarian daily “Népszabadság” with the title Information Society (1999-2002)
Study about the Danish information-policy model and possibilities of its implementation in Hungary (1999)
Study about the Swedish informatics tax system and subsidies and possibilities of its implementation in Hungary (2000)
Study about the US solutions concerning the information society and possibilities of its implementation in Hungary (2001)
Articles about Inforum and its goals more than 500 in dailies.
Movies about Information Society Mentor Program and eInclusion Year 2008 in Hungary
eInclusion reports (2007, 2008)
Websites: www.50plusz.net, eInclusion.hu
Computer is a child’s play – TV serial for seniors (2009)

Lobbying activities

Inforum took an important role in establishing the Hungarian Ministry of Informatics and Communication in 2002 and to set up the Committee on Informatics and Telecommunications of the Hungarian Parliament in 2001 as a standing committee.Inforum has been making big effort for lobbying against reprographic fee of printers circulated in Hungary (1999-2005).

By Inforum initiatives eshtablished in October, 2008 the eInclusion Temporary Parliamentary Commettee.