The European Union aims to ensure that people live in an area of freedom, security and justice, without internal frontiers. Europeans need to feel confident that, wherever they move within Europe, their freedom and their security are well protected, in full compliance with the Union's values, including the rule of law and fundamental rights. In recent years new and complex threats have emerged highlighting the need for further synergies and closer cooperation at all levels. Many of today's security concerns originate from instability in the EU's immediate neighbourhood and changing forms of radicalisation, violence and terrorism. Threats are becoming more varied and more international, as well as increasingly cross-border and cross-sectorial in nature. Cybersecurity is one of the most important and 'hot topics' within the European Commission, but the policy level focus, naturally is on Strategic planning at Pan-European level, with a strong focus on IoT, Industry, Digital infrastructure, Education and other fast moving industries and sectors which are vulnerable to cybersecurity and data breaches. This is highlighted by the initiation of a Network of National Coordination Centres, a Cybersecurity Competence Community and a European Cybersecurity Industrial, Technology and Research Competence Centre by the European Commission in 2017. By 2022, cybersecurity ratings will become as important as credit ratings for businesses and websites (Gartner Innovation Insight for Security Rating Services, 2018). It is within this European context that our project focuses on promoting Erasmus+ amongst seniors citizens and older generations at local and regional levels. Our needs analysis and project research shows that this priority highlights senior citizens as a portion of the European population which is particularly underrepresented within European projects, and arguably, benefits the least from such initiatives as the Erasmus+ programme. It is through the this overarching project aim, the DiSC project will support elderly individuals in acquiring and developing the basic skills and key competences (based on, and related to the DigComp Digital Competency Framework). For majority of later generations, these skills are learned subconsciously, embedded within day-to-day activities in the socioeconomic and cultural environment they grew up in. The project will support and reinforce the development of these key digital competences for all elderly European citizens throughout their life. In a world where technology and, in turn, digital threats, scams and online dangers are developing more quickly each year, we aim to ensure this underrepresented group are able to benefit from an increased level of self-awareness through the use of innovative learning tools to safeguard their own digital wellbeing at a grass roots level. Within this transnational context, the objectives of this project are: - To educate senior citizens on the types of digital dangers and their consequences - To build the digital capacity of senior citizens to recognise and proactively adapt to digital security threats and scams - To lay the foundations for the implementation and uptake of targeted digital security policies at a higher/systemic level - To enhance critical thinking amongst senior citizens relating to digital security The direct target group is low-skilled senior citizens aged 55+. The indirect target group is organisations and trainers focused on upskilling and increasing the ICT and digital competence capacity of the direct target group. The project will produce the following key deliverables: 1. Framework of Digital Security Competences (IO1) 2. Interactive Benchmarking Tool for Digital Security Competences in Europe (IO2) 3. Interactive Online Board Game on Digital Security (IO3) 4. Piloting and Impact Assessment Report and Policy Recommendations (IO4)
The project objectives can be summarised as: - Increase representation of senior citizens (SCs) participating in European projects - Support SCs in acquiring and developing the basic skills and key digital competences related to digital security - Support and reinforce the development of these key digital competences for all elderly European citizens - Increased level of self-awareness using innovative learning tools - Facilitate senior citizens to safeguard their own digital wellbeing - Foster employability by increasing the basic digital skills - Provide senior citizens with in-depth, targeted lifelong skills and knowledge related to digital security - Provide senior citizens with an opportunity for innovative educational and personal development - To educate senior citizens on the types of digital dangers and their consequences - To build the digital capacity of senior citizens to recognise and proactively adapt to digital security threats and scams - To lay the foundations for the implementation and uptake of targeted digital security policies at a higher/systemic level - To enhance critical thinking amongst senior citizens relating to digital security
In recent years, and particularly since the Covid pandemic new and complex digital security threats have increased hugely. Cybersecurity is one of the most important and 'hot topics' within the European Commission, but the translation of policy objectives to implementation at grassroots level is difficult due to a lack of digital security and threat awareness, increased digital exclusion among certain groups related to the economic situation in Europe related to Covid-19, and the war in Ukraine as well as increased, varied, and fast evolving threats and methods. The consortium applied for this project to be able to promote digital security awareness and improved skills and knowledge among senior citizens and older generations at local and regional levels based on the striking growth in the use of technology among Europeans aged 65-74 with 39% now using smartphones and to address the following needs: - Requirement for security focused digital skills amongst the elderly population - Increased understanding of the evolving situation of online and digital security scams - Senior citizens are more at risk than any other group of losing money to online criminals with 1 in 11 senior citizens losing money online