Interview with Ben Max from the Digital Inclusion Department at the Ministry of Digitalisation

                                                                            Photo: Ministry for Digitalisation

Mr. Ben Max, thank you for taking the time to speak to us. For our readers who are not familiar with the Department for Digital Inclusion, could you briefly introduce your department?

Thank you for your interest in our work. The Digital Inclusion Department, which is part of the Ministry of Digitalisation, ensures that the digital transformation in Luxembourg benefits everyone.

Our mission is to make digital technology accessible, understandable and usable for every citizen, regardless of their age, skills or circumstances. We therefore coordinate the national strategy on digital inclusion, working closely with ministries, government departments, local authorities and civil society. This cross-cutting approach is implemented through an inter-ministerial working group bringing together 15 ministries.

Our work is based on the National Action Plan for Digital Inclusion. Following an initial plan (2021–2024) comprising 40 initiatives, we are currently implementing the second (2026–2030), structured around six key areas, including digital skills, access, autonomy and the maintenance of non-digital alternatives.

In practice, this involves supporting grassroots projects, developing initiatives, carrying out studies and promoting enhanced personalized support. Our objective is clear: to ensure that no one is left behind and to enable everyone to participate fully in the digital society.

One of OSAPS’s missions is to raise awareness amongst economic stakeholders of the importance of digital accessibility. What are the recurring obstacles your department faces in its day-to-day work on behalf of people with disabilities?

This issue is addressed through work carried out in close collaboration with other ministries and government departments, each within their own remit, notably the OSAPS.

As far as the Ministry of Digitalisation is concerned, digital accessibility is a concrete priority. The Government IT Centre (CTIE) therefore ensures that public websites and applications comply with the Renow guidelines, and regularly carries out user tests, particularly on Guichet.lu and MyGuichet.lu, to guarantee their usability for as many people as possible.

In practice, the main obstacles do not stem from a lack of framework or commitment, but rather from a still insufficient understanding of accessibility. Too often perceived as a technical constraint or an additional cost, it remains insufficiently integrated as a genuine driver of quality and inclusion, even though it benefits the entire population.

A lack of forward planning is another major challenge: accessibility is still too often considered at a late stage, which complicates its integration. Added to this is a shortage of specific skills, in both the public and private sectors, hence the importance of raising awareness, providing training and offering support to stakeholders.

Finally, the diversity of disability situations requires tailored responses and an approach based on co-creation, user testing and the maintenance of non-digital alternatives.

More broadly, our studies show that 44 per cent of internet users have already abandoned an online administrative procedure due to its complexity, which illustrates the scale of the challenge. The challenge is therefore as much cultural as it is organisational: making accessibility second nature. This is a conviction we fully share with OSAPS, as it is an essential prerequisite for a truly inclusive society.

How do you envisage cooperation between your department and OSAPS?

Cooperation with OSAPS is fully in line with our approach, which is based on partnership and a cross-cutting approach. No single organisation can, on its own, tackle the challenges of digital inclusion: that is why we work closely with numerous partners, including OSAPS, around a shared vision.

We share the objective of embedding digital accessibility right from the design stage of services, rather than as an afterthought. Within this framework, our roles are complementary: OSAPS contributes its expertise, particularly regarding the needs of people with disabilities and the implementation of legal requirements, whilst our department acts at an earlier stage, focusing on coordination, strategy and support for public and private sector stakeholders.

This collaboration is based on ongoing dialogue and takes the form of concrete actions: awareness-raising, training, practical tools, and co-creation initiatives with users. In this regard, the National Action Plan for Digital Inclusion 2026–2030 provides a structural framework for strengthening these synergies and supporting stakeholders in a coherent manner.

Beyond our obligations, our ambition is to promote a positive vision of accessibility as a driver of quality, innovation and trust. Together, we are working to make digital transformation an opportunity for everyone, ensuring that no one is left behind.

Finally, what are your hopes for the future when it comes to accessibility?

Our main hope is that digital accessibility will become the norm rather than a separate issue. Ultimately, it should be naturally integrated into every service, product or public policy as a genuine quality criterion, rather than a constraint.

We hope to see a shift in practices towards systematic consideration from the design stage onwards, by involving the users concerned more closely. This is precisely the aim of the 2026–2030 National Action Plan: to anticipate, co-create and design truly inclusive services.

In practical terms, we hope to reach a decisive milestone: public services designed for everyone, the retention of non-digital alternatives, and citizens able to use digital technology with complete confidence and autonomy. It is also about changing attitudes, by emphasizing that accessibility benefits the entire population, far beyond those with disabilities.

Finally, we see emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, as a major opportunity to strengthen inclusion, provided they are designed responsibly. This remains a collective ambition: it is by mobilizing all stakeholders that we will be able to build a fairer, simpler and truly inclusive digital society, where no one is left behind.

Thank you very much for this brief interview.