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4 minute read
This year, OFFnumérique 2 confirmed something essential for me: digital transformation is not, first and foremost, about technology. It’s about meaning, human relationships, trust, and social justice. We often talk about the “digital divide” as if it were mainly an issue of access to tools. Walking away from this event, I mostly want to talk about a divide in meaning.
Transformation before “digital”
One sentence really resonated with me: in “digital transformation,” the word transformation matters more than the word digital. It might sound basic, but it’s a real compass.
Time and again, speakers reminded us how important it is to start with the right question: why are we doing this project? What real problem are we trying to solve? Is this really the right moment to introduce a new tool? Without this upstream work, we end up with platforms everyone works around, “solutions” that create more friction than benefits, and teams that quietly go back to their old habits as soon as the project is “delivered.”
What makes the difference is not the number of tools we deploy, but people’s ability to truly make them their own, to find meaning in them, and to feel legitimate using them, at their own pace.
Data that only becomes valuable when we actually use it
Another strong thread throughout the day was the question of data. We sometimes forget this, but the value of data lies neither in its volume nor in its sophistication. It emerges through use.
Without accessible reports, without the ability to explore and make sense of data, we are just stockpiling numbers that sit in spreadsheets. On the other hand, once we put in place clear data governance, simple visualization tools, and spaces to discuss what we observe, data becomes a lever for decision-making, advocacy, and improving our practices.
This focus on governance is all the more crucial when it comes to AI. The message was clear: you don’t just put AI on top of a data mess. You start by creating order, by thinking about what you collect, why you collect it, with what kind of consent, and for what purpose. Only then do you look at how AI might help.
AI as an executer, not an oracle
OFFnumérique 2 also offered a very concrete way of talking about AI, far from both doom and hype. What comes through is a nuanced view: AI can be a great executer, but it doesn’t replace human judgment.
For instance, some organizations already use AI to speed up drafting a joint declaration during a conference, or to adapt content to different audiences. AI helps save time, but real people still have the final say. They decide on tone, nuance, and message.
You can also feel both worry and curiosity among people: some use AI to challenge practitioners’ advice, others feel intimidated, like they don’t belong in this universe. That’s why we need support that demystifies AI, equips people, and respects each person’s pace.
And there are promising paths forward: AI tools that can run locally, anonymization features, and practices that limit risks to confidentiality and ethics.
Digital divide or inequality divide?
One number really hit a nerve: roughly half the population is functionally illiterate. That radically changes how we should think about our projects, interfaces, and communications.
Talking about a “digital divide” as if we had people who are “in” on one side and people who are “out” on the other is misleading. The reality is a spectrum. You can be very comfortable scrolling on your phone and, at the same time, completely lost when it comes to booking an appointment online, managing your privacy settings, or understanding the implications of a form.
This is where participatory design and living labs become so meaningful. Involving the people concerned from the very beginning—especially older adults, people with low literacy, and other vulnerable groups—helps build tools that don’t ask for “one more effort,” but actually support autonomy.
One of the strongest lessons: even before we get to digital, we have to work on the relationship, the trust, and people’s sense of legitimacy in their own decisions and choices.
Listening before deploying
Another talk put its finger on a recurring trap: we ask questions loaded with assumptions. We might ask what people think about “the GAFAMs,” as if everyone knows that acronym, or we ask about “what bothers you about social media,” assuming people see platforms the way we do.
The result: we think we’re “consulting,” but in reality we’re just confirming our own frames. The call, instead, was to slow down and learn how to truly listen. Rewrite our questions, avoid jargon, and accept that our certainties are not necessarily those of the people we’re trying to reach.
This way of listening changes everything in digital projects. It helps us avoid transformations that silently fail, where the organization believes it has “delivered” its digital project, but people quietly revert to previous practices.
From individual expertise to collective intelligence
I really enjoyed one activity about participating constructively in online conversations. The idea was simple: we had to predict whether the Montreal Canadiens would win a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. First, we voted based on gut feeling. Then we identified the criteria that actually matter, distributed the research around the room, and shared the information we found before voting again.
This small exercise illustrates a powerful idea: collectively, we make better predictions when we structure the process, share the research tasks, and pool our findings. It’s the opposite of the noise and knee-jerk reactions often associated with online conversations. It’s a form of active digital literacy that combines critical thinking, collaboration, and respect.
Another team shared a long-term effort with digital literacy experts to identify today’s main challenges, name them, and then prioritize them. The outcome includes concrete tools (like downloadable cards) to talk about inequalities, uses, and risks—without dramatizing or downplaying them.
Again, there’s a recurring theme: stepping out of the expert ivory tower and creating spaces where different forms of knowledge meet, where everyone can contribute their point of view.
Inclusive communication: access before conversion
One of the most powerful, activist messages at OFFnumérique 2 was about communication. We were invited to flip a deeply ingrained reflex: the goal is not conversion. The goal is access.
If half the population struggles with reading and writing, then every word matters. We cannot afford communication that exists to please ourselves or impress our peers. Every sentence, every visual, every person represented in a photo sends a signal: “this service is for you”… or “this is not for you.”
A persona-based approach helps us connect with the realities of different audiences, especially in contexts where the digital divide overlaps with broader social inequalities. But the core message is simple: communication centered on the person, not on the product or performance.
Seen this way, the role of marketing shifts dramatically. It’s no longer primarily about generating sales or sign-ups, but about building a relationship of trust. Opening the door, making people feel welcome, without coercion.
So, what do we do now?
What we’re taking away from OFFnumérique 2 is a set of very concrete moves, within reach even without a “big budget” or cutting-edge tech.
We can start by mapping what already exists in our organization: systems, processes, habits. We can experiment with small digital or AI use cases, using free versions over a limited period, to see if they actually help. We can join collectives, host webinars, and invite both experts and users to share their experiences.
Most importantly, we can decide that our goal is no longer just to “successfully deliver a digital project,” but to reduce inequalities, strengthen people’s autonomy, and create connection. It’s demanding, sometimes uncomfortable, but infinitely richer.
OFFnumérique 2 reminds us that digital only makes sense if it serves deeply human transformations. And that’s probably the best news: we already have the most important