Active Citizens - Digital Citizens

<< Background >>The needs that were the basis of this project were related to the risks that ICTs represent for youth: security threats, cyberbullying, hate speech, addiction, fake news, disinformation, etc. Young people, especially disadvantaged ones, often lack the necessary knowledge and skills for safe and healthy digital usage. These topics are rarely included in formal school curricula and at the same time ICTs are becoming increasingly important in our lives, due to technological advances, globalization and the recent pandemic.On the other hand, civic engagement and participation of youth are also affected by digital transformation. ICT usage has been found to increase young people’s civic participation and awareness of social issues, despite their decreasing engagement in mainstream politics. Social media affects young people’s norms, values, attitudes, and behaviours regarding democracy, power, politics, and the organisation of economic, social and private life. That is why youth workers and educators need to be equipped with knowledge and with skills for addressing all these important topics through interactive and inclusive methods.<< Objectives >>The main objectives of the project were to:- build the capacity of the participating organizations and youth workers in the field of digital citizenship, focusing on its different aspects, such as digital media balance, mindfulness and wellbeing; privacy and security; digital footprint and identity; online communication and prevention of cyberbullying and hate speech; news and media literacy; online advocacy, activism and participation, through an intense exchange of experience, best practices and tools; - strengthen the organizational competences of the participating organizations to work on and promote digital citizenship among adolescents and youth, especially focusing on young people with fewer opportunities who often lack information and data literacy;- promote digital citizenship among young people in the participating countries, in accordance with the values and principles of the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027: engage, connect, empower. The project aimed to foster civic engagement through digital tools, and to build the capacity of youth workers through an innovative methodology based on non-formal education, as well as on the expertise and good practices of the participating organizations.<< Implementation >>The activities implemented within the project were:1. Creation of a comprehensive training toolkit for youth workers on digital citizenship, including non-formal educational activities. The toolkit contains activities that focus on several thematic areas and was developed jointly by all partners: privacy and security (Greece), digital footprint and identity (Spain), digital citizenship and mindfulness (Ireland), media literacy (Portugal), hate speech and cyberbullying (Bulgaria)2. International training course on digital citizenship for youth workers from the partner countries3. Local activities for youth workers and young people in each country, including youth with fewer opportunities4. Management and coordination activities, including virtual cooperation and transnational project meetings5. Dissemination activities – sharing the results of the project, through partners’ social media, traditional media, websites, through face-to-face events, etc.<< Results >>- A comprehensive toolkit based on non-formal educational methods was developed, focusing on the different aspects of digital citizenship; it was tested and widely shared among the partners’ networks- Youth workers who took part in the project are better equipped with knowledge and skills for tackling topics related to digital citizenship in an effective way through non-formal educational tools- Young people from the partner countries took part in interactive educational sessions on digital citizenship- The partner organizations have an increased capacity to work transnationally and across sectors on topics related to digital citizenship, and have increased the quality and impact of their non-formal educational activities- A wider audience was engaged with the topic of digital citizenship through the dissemination activities