Human Technology is turning the traditional technology-focused perception of the world upside down. For years the citizens of Tampere have been taught to take a good grip of technology. The aim is to bring joy to life through technology.

"In the world of human technology customer needs determine, technology supports, doing work is fun and the computer is only a person," describes Teppo Sulonen, the chief information officer for the City of Tampere.

"Human-centered thinking and planning create better services, easier-to-use devices, happier people, joy and a substantial fall in routine work."

Enthusiasm to use the Internet

The City of Tampere targeted all this in the eTampere information society programme, which was implemented between 2001 and 2005. The objective of the programme was to make Tampere the world's leading researcher, developer and applier of the information society.

The focal points were the need-responsive services that were based on technological innovations and aimed at active, participatory and effective citizenship and at developing new business for companies.

Sulonen says that one of the programme's most significant achievements was the strengthening of the civic field. "Activating and educating the citizens was a success. We got the citizens of Tampere really enthused about using computers and the Internet. By the end of the programme more than 80 per cent of them had an Internet connection."

Computers in buses

Although the programme has now finished, the spirit of eTampere lives on in many practical matters and connections.

One particular success story is Netti-Nysse, which was created out of the eTampere project and still goes on its way. Netti-Nysse is Tampere's city library's Internet bus, where basic skills are studied and the benefit and joy of information technology for people's everyday life is sought.

"Netti-Nysse's task in life is to encourage and guide people to become familiar with computers and the Internet. It opens the door to the information society and looks for new models and solutions for training the basic skills in IT," explains Sulonen.

In the front of the bus there are ten computers with Internet connections and in the back an auditorium with a data projector and a screen. The Internet instructors teach small groups about the use of computers and the Internet in two shifts from morning to evening.

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Taking a ride in the bright yellow Netti-Nysse, the citizens of Tampere are able to become familiar with the Internet.