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You have the Ctrl.

2020-3-RO01-KA105-0948992020Youth mobilityfinalized
Countries: RO|TR|MK · Grant: €17,760
ICT - new technologies - digital competencesInclusion - equityDisabilities - special needs

Objectives

"You have the Ctrl." was born after prolonged activities with young people, with and without disabilities, young people from various backgrounds, their common denominator being technology, with the advantages and disadvantages of using it. While access to the Internet offers great benefits in terms of discovering things about the world, it also causes collateral problems in terms of cybersecurity. Digital literacy is felt to be weak. Thus, together with a series of partners with whom we developed joint projects, we commissioned active young disabled and non-disabled people from our organizations, to investigate the topics of communication, inclusion, integration and security in modern social media communities. A recurring theme was that aggression, intolerance and fake news became abundant on social media and not just for young people, but for society as a whole, and this seemed to be strongly reflected in traditional communities, especially intolerance, incitement to hatred and prejudice against people with fewer opportunities. Conducting a problem tree analysis with partners on youth issues, we concluded that harassment in general and cyberbullying are some of the biggest issues young people are facing, and digital literacy was what we wanted more to address. The young people from the organizations supported the idea of this project and were active in drafting it. According to Eurostat, in 2019, 4 out of 5 young people, meaning 80% of 16-24-year old, access the Internet in the euro area. In recent months, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, young people have been forced to take online courses because the measures imposed have prevented schools and universities from conducting their courses face-to-face, which has increased their time online. Mobile devices are proliferating at an increasing rate, with over 89% of young people using mobile devices at work, school and leisure (Eurostat 2018). As a result, young people are considered digital natives, but they are neither digitally literate nor adequately prepared to face the emotional challenges of social media as they begin to follow positive appreciations and comments on their posts. They may feel the pressure to be constantly connected and worry about their online image as their social interactions become more complex. Following some unrealistic lifestyles on social networks, a double-edged sword is created, making young people feel inadequate and unaware of their own online image, while facing the rise of cyber aggression. Free and unrestricted access to the Internet has created a huge increase in unsafe information for young people, and the lack of critical thinking completes stereotypes, inciting hatred and increasing aggression, prejudice and xenophobia. The main objectives of the project are to improve: - The critical thinking skills of the participants; - The online communication skills of young participants; - Digital creativity skills; - Collaboration between young people using digital tools The objectives will be achieved during a youth exchange held in Izmir, Turkey, which will be attended by 32 young people from 4 countries, aged 16-24 (each national group comprising 8 young people, 4 of whom are visually impaired and/or with fewer opportunities, 4 without disabilities, an accompanying person for those with disabilities and a group leader). By engaging in this type of collaboration, young people are even better prepared to successfully participate in our global economy. These goals are in line with the Erasmus + program for inclusive and sustainable smart growth, in particular aligned with the Euro 2020 Strategy pillar of the digital agenda to improve digital literacy and inclusion, as well as aligning with the European strategy for a better internet for children and young people. This inclusive project will focus on young people with fewer opportunities, young people with visual impairments, young people who have experienced bullying, intolerance and prejudice, in order to fully address online safety issues, lack of digital literacy and proper use of social networks among young people. This development of best practices in social media will help reduce hate speech, online aggression and will try to combat online extremism, in terms of young people with disabilities and young people with fewer opportunities, with and without internet access and social platforms.

Project partners (3)