“Human and Digital Rights for Inclusive Public Services” published by the Italian National Observatory on Social Policies
Envisioning Translocality
Enabling Institutions
Enforcing Practices
We are proud to announce that the publication “Human and Digital Rights for Inclusive Public Services”, written by Maryam Karimi, Giada Casarin, and Grazia Concilio, was published on September 9, 2025, by the Italian National Observatory on Social Policies (Osservatorio nazionale sulle politiche sociali).
The article explores how the ongoing digital transition in public services is reshaping the right to the city into a right to the digital city. This transformation raises crucial questions about access, equality, and inclusion, particularly for immigrant communities. While digital platforms increasingly act as gateways to essential rights such as healthcare, education, and social services, many vulnerable groups encounter barriers due to limited language skills, lack of institutional trust, insufficient digital literacy, and scarce technological resources.
Two projects at the centre of the study
easyRights (Horizon 2020)
Tested innovative tools in Birmingham, Larissa, Málaga, and Palermo. Its key results include:
- easyRights Agent: a multilingual chatbot providing step-by-step guidance and language-learning support to help immigrants navigate public service procedures.
- Mediation Grammar: an evaluation methodology, officially recognized by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) in 2023, that assesses linguistic accessibility, adequacy of information, and user awareness of rights—helping administrations design more inclusive services.
città-IN (Polisocial Award 2023, Politecnico di Milano)
Focused on immigrant parents in Milan’s San Siro neighborhood and their interactions with school services (enrollment, insurance, electronic registers, pre-/after-school, and summer programs). The project combined hands-on digital assistance with training sessions for families and stakeholders. In collaboration with the third-sector organization Mamme a Scuola, it co-designed the handbook Parliamo di Scuola, a practical tool that empowers especially migrant mothers with digital, linguistic, and cultural skills, while also helping educators and administrators better understand immigrant needs.
Key recommendations for inclusive public services
The article concludes with a call for concrete actions to ensure no one is left behind in the digital transformation of public services:
- Monitor service quality with user-centered tools such as Mediation Grammar.
- Ensure intersectional and participatory co-design in service delivery.
- Promote human and digital rights literacy for both citizens and public administrations.
- Provide offline alternatives alongside digital platforms.
About the Observatory
The Italian National Observatory on Social Policies, hosted on welforum.it, is a platform created by the Association for Social Research ETS (ARS) for the dissemination, analysis, and debate on national and regional social policies. Active since 2017, it offers free and accessible materials, curated and commented on by a network of expert editors and contributors.
👉 Read the full article here: Human and Digital Rights for Inclusive Public Services
