Digital Youth: Preparing Youth Workers for a Digital World

<< Background >>Digital Youth addresses the identified needs within the realm of youth work throughout Europe to enhance the digital skills of both youth workers and young individuals. Notably, Cyprus, Greece, and Spain exhibit skills below the EU average in categories such as Internet user skills, advanced skills, and development. Ireland also falls below the average ranking in internet user skills. The initiative aims to respond to the European Commission's call for well-organized activities and initiatives that elevate the digital skills of the youth across Europe. Recognizing the vital role of digital literacy and 21st-century skills in contemporary citizenship, youth work should actively promote such involvement, aligning with the goals outlined in the European Union's Work Plan for Youth for the period 2016-2018. The importance of 'Youth Work' is emphasized in the European Youth Strategy for 2019-27, with its own agenda focused on supporting youth empowerment through quality, innovation, and recognition of youth work. Acknowledging that youth workers often lack the necessary competencies for delivering digitally-oriented interactive and engaging activities and services, Digital Youth advocates for cooperation in a transnational context.<< Objectives >>In order to address the gap and needs of the field of youth work, which are also in line with the European Youth Strategy 2019-2027, Digital Youth have set the following objectives: - Promote the importance of Digital Youth Work in the partner countries and Europe- Build the competencies of youth workers to use digital tools in youth work- Develop quality resources for digital youth work- Improve the overall quality of youth work conducted in the participating countries. With this objective in mind, the project consortium has created a comprehensive set of resources and tools designed to enhance the digital skills and knowledge of youth workers. The project has strengthened the capabilities of its target audience—youth workers—enabling them to navigate the evolving landscape of digital transformation in various aspects of contemporary life. Significantly, this initiative has improved their capacity to engage and interact with young individuals effectively. As a result, they are now equipped to broaden the scope of their work and offerings to the youth. This includes the ability to plan, design, and implement actions using digital tools, ultimately elevating the quality of youth work and the recognition it receives. << Implementation >>The project carried out the following activities: -Established a Youth Work Committee that consists of a total of 22 stakeholders, youth workers and youth in each participating country. This Committee supported the project in defining the needs of its target groups, as well as the production and finalization of its material. Specifically, members of the Committee participated in focus groups, filled in questionnaires, and pilot tested all the project’s results, to give feedback and finalise the training package material.-Hosted 1 Focus Group in each implementing country to record the needs and the challenges youth workers face in regards to the incorporation and use of digital tools in their work.-Carried out 1 Pilot Implementations in each partner country to test and finalize the Training Package produced by the project.-Organized and facilitated 1-2 Blended Learning Training Sessions with Youth Workers in each of the implementing country using the material of the Training Package and the resources of the eLearning platform of the project.-Hosted Focus Groups in each implementing country to collect-record suggestions, good practices and effective approaches that will be documented in a policy paper.-Organized and hosted Multiplier Events in Ireland, Spain and Greece and the International Conference in Cyprus with 125+ participants-Held face-to-face partner meetings in Greece and Cyprus.-Held more than six (6) online partner meetings.-Carried out a comprehensive dissemination campaign which involved participation in a wide array of events as well as the engagement of the project's target audiences and relevant stakeholders. << Results >>Throughout the last 24 months, Digital Youth has developed and provided an extensive set of tools and resources, significantly contributing to the positive transformation of youth work across Europe. The project has played a crucial role in advancing the digital skills and knowledge of youth workers, enhancing their ability to strategically plan, design, and execute actions using digital tools. This, in turn, contributes to the improvement of the overall quality of youth work and its recognition. Furthermore, the initiative has empowered its primary target audience, enabling them to facilitate the empowerment of youth. This empowerment aims to address contemporary challenges and obstacles while promoting inclusion in training and youth work initiatives.Specifically, the project has produced the following results: R1: Digital Youth Training PackageR2: eLearning Platform and Digital Learning ResourcesR3: Policy and Practice Recommendation PaperAdditionally, the following have been produced: - A Project Plan: A detailed plan clearly presenting the scope, objectives and work of the project that guided partners through the implementation of all the tasks entailed as well as provided concrete quantitative and qualitative indicators to monitor its work. - Partnership Agreement Contracts: CARDET has prepared partner contracts for securing rights and duties of all partners involved in this project- A Project Website (https://digital-youth.eu/): A platform that hosts all the work and resources of the project as well as provides relevant information about the Digital Youth and the field it is working on. The website is available in all partners’ languages. - Digital Youth eLearning Platform (https://elearning.digital-youth.eu/): An eLearning platform that hosts all the resources and tools of the project, making them accessible to its target audiences. - The Digital Youth Training Package had a direct impact on young people, as well as, youth workers. The Training Package was prepared for transmitting their knowledge to young people by practicing Digital Youth Work. Similarly, the promotion of such practice has engaged their fellow youth workers in practicing digital youth work and spreading awareness on the matter.- Validation and Certification of digital youth workers through the modules available in the eLearning portal that assesses, monitors, and evaluates their learning progress. The certification process is linked to the YouthPass certification system.- A report which includes a collection of lessons learned, good examples, challenges and recommendations for practitioners in the field, and for policymakers.- A Dissemination and Exploitation Plan: KMOP has prepared a dissemination strategy, listing all evaluation activities, tasks, deadlines and responsibilities.- Dissemination Materials: CARDET has developed the project’s visual identity and a set of promotional material including project logo, project template, project leaflet, project social media pages and the project website..- Dissemination Logs: Each partner organisation consistently reported on every dissemination activity they implemented to keep track of the project’s impact and the number of people and target groups reached. - 6 Months Reports: Every 6 months each partner provided a full report about all expenditure as well as all content development and evaluation activities. Through these reports, continuous project monitoring at the administrative and development levels was achieved. - Progress and Final Report: According to the requirements of the project as well as the documents provide by the NA, the partnership has submitted a progress (12M) and a final (24M)report.