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Digital youth work

2020-2-UK01-KA105-0792912020Youth mobilityfinalized
Countries: UK|EL|IT|RS|LT|EE|HU|RO · Grant: €51,100
Youth (Participation, Youth Work, Youth Policy)ICT - new technologies - digital competencesInclusion - equity

Objectives

Young people are the main users of the Internet among population groups in Europe. Statistics based on a forecast of the internet user penetration rate in UK from 2015 to 2022 revealed that in 2022 the share of monthly active internet users were projected to reach 78.9 percent of the total population. According to EUROSTAT in 2018, 83 % of young people used mobile phones to access the internet, away from home or work. The Internet creates opportunities for participation for young people with cultural disadvantages. The Internet, being a strong tool for participation can also lead to a lot of harm for young people, due to such factors as anonymity, lack of control of the quality and objectivity of the information provided online; spread of violence and hate speech. In order to use the whole potential and benefits of the Internet for involvement of youth into active participation, we need to consider these factors. The general objectives of the project were: To increase critical thinking, internet literacy and sense of initiative of young people in order to build a safe space for participation online; To develop a shared understanding of youth participation online and analyse the achievements and pitfalls of current youth participation in these processes; To explore what are the the spaces, the opportunities and the support required by young people in order to meaningfully participate in the shaping of the Internet; To engage young people online and develop their capacity and competences in active participation in the life of community; To create opportunities for participation of young people with disadvantages through the online space; To equip youth workers with different tools and practices of involving youth to active participation online; To build the capacities of youth organizations through sharing the tools of engaging youth in online participation Organisational development goals set up by the outcomes of researches were: The objective of our project was to develop workshops and an online campaign for and by young people with diverse cultural backgrounds, in order to promote active offline and online youth participation. During the project we planned 32 local workshops and an online campaign with, for and by young people, to promote active offline and online youth participation of young people with diverse cultural backgrounds over the following 2 years. We compiled and edited an e-booklet based on a list of benefits and risks of young people’s online participation as well as descriptions of online tools for supporting the safe online participation of young people. Amongst our own pages, the booklet also incorporates valuable advice and official government guidance documentation from the National Protective Security Authority. The participants of our project came up with 16 international youth exchange and training course ideas, that will engage young people to fight against hate speech towards other young people with different cultural backgrounds. Over the next 2 years our partnership will aim to implement these 16 ideas. The Learning objectives of Training Course 1 were: To increase critical thinking and internet literacy of youth workers in order to build a safe space for online participation of young people from culturally diverse backgrounds such as minorities, refugees, migrants, Roma, etc. To develop a shared understanding of youth participation online To explore the rights and the opportunities and the support required by YP in order to participate in the shaping of the Internet; To explore youth work tools to engage YP online and develop their competences in active participation in the life of community. The learning objectives of Training Course 2 were: To create opportunities for participation of young people from diverse cultural backgrounds through the online space; To equip youth workers with various tools of involving youth in online participation and to fight against hate speech To build capacities of youth organizations through exploring the tools of engaging youth in online participation and activism; To initiate international youth projects on online activism and participation according to the proposals of Erasmus+ programme. The professional learning outcomes of our participants were: They increased their critical thinking and internet literacy in order to build a safe space for participation online for young people with special focus on having culturally diverse background such as minorities, refugees, migrants, Roma, etc.; They developed a shared understanding of youth participation online and analysed the achievements and pitfalls of current youth participation in these processes; They explore the opportunities and the support required by young people to meaningfully participate in the shaping of the Internet; They shared youth work methods to engage young people online and develop their capacity in active online & community participation

Project partners (8)