Access granted: digital media skills as innovative means to increase e-participation of youth living in less serviced areas Erasmus Project

Project Title

Access granted: digital media skills as innovative means to increase e-participation of youth living in less serviced areas

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for youth

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2016

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Access for disadvantaged; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy

Project Summary

This project was aimed at raising the capacities of partner youth associations for networking and policy dialogue to enhance civic participation of young people from less serviced areas using ICT (Information and Communication Technology) skills. Understanding all vital aspects of the so-called e-citizenship (community participation through electronic media) enabled our youth organizations and student councils to act as the experienced multipliers in national networks mainstreaming access of youth from less serviced areas to community civic life and policy making.

This Strategic Partnership project managed to activatepartner youth associations in transferring knowledge and skills on the issues of enhancing youth civic participation through web based social networks.

In compliance with the aims and objectives set, this project managed to:

• initiate networking process between participating partner organizations, associations and other relevant stakeholders on the issues of e-democracy and e-citizenship;
• enhance the participation of youth from less serviced areas in European and international youth associations and structures;
• develop pilot models of e-participation youth groups in social networks;
• inform the participants about European institutions and youth structures and opportunities provided by their programmes and policies on youth participation issues;
• motivate and enable participants and participating organizations to share their acquired knowledge, information and experience as widely as possible and act as multipliers on the issues of intercultural education, equal opportunities and empowerment of youth from less serviced areas after the project;
• gather contributions for the future development of Erasmus+ programme development as regards e-citizenship education in Europe;
• practice cross-sector approach to involve youth organizations, municipalities, business community that should boost transferability, awareness raising and facilitate change on our theme.

Partner youth associations from Sweden, Portugal, Latvia and Lithuania acted as trained multipliers in national networks mainstreaming access of less serviced areas to community civic life by carrying out research, exchanging best practices,developing pilot models of e-participation youth groups in social networks and working together on Intellectual outputs that encouraged cooperation, networking and exchange of best practices.

The direct participants for the transnational project meetings were: young peer educators, representatives of the participating partner organizations; partner youth associations; experts, politicians and public authorities (business and/or youth sector) who were involved for cooperation on the issues of the project. The meetings were facilitated by the professional non-formal education facilitators with relevant experience in the field of e-citizenship and promoting civic participation of young people from less serviced areas.

The project included 4 Transnational Project Meetings involving participants from each partner country:

– 16 pax for the Preparatory Meeting (Transnational Project Meeting 1) in Latvia
– 16 pax for the Youth Conference (Transnational Project Meeting 2) in Portugal
– 16 pax for the Action Plan Development meeting (Transnational Project Meeting 3) in Lithuania
– 12 pax for the Evaluation meeting (Transnational Project Meeting 4) in Sweden

As a result of the Project, the participating partner organizations:

– shaped the pool of peer educators representing partner youth associations to address the issues of enhancing civic participation of youth from less serviced areas through web based social networks (with ICT skills enhancement element) and ways of transferring skills and knowledge;
– devised an Intellectual output with working title: Methodological and innovative practice manual “Enhancing youth civic participation through web based social networks”;
– form working relationships with experts from the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA), got acquainted with the Digital Single Market strategy and the EU’s commitment to drive further action on boosting digital skills in Europe illustrated in the Riga Declaration on e-Skills;
– shared best practice regarding representative democracy issues relevant to the project theme and motivate the participating youth organizations for Networking on the issues of civic participation of youth fromless serviced areas through web based social networks.

As a result of the project community initiatives aiming at using web based social networks for enhancing civic participation of youth living in less serviced areas were undertaken in the local communities of the participating organizations.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 0 Eur

Project Coordinator

INTERNATIONAL WORLD YOUTH ORGANISATION & Country: SE

Project Partners

• STUDENTU KORPORACIJA “LATVIA”
• Associação Humanitária Negrelense
• Atviru sirdziu clubas