Digital Participation. Engaging Diverse and Marginalised Communities. Erasmus Project

Project Title

Digital Participation. Engaging Diverse and Marginalised Communities.

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 adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Civic engagement / responsible citizenship; Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning; ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

Digital exclusion is one of the main challenges European Union is facing. It is a widespread and growing phonomenon that leaves a great number of people not able to benefit from the chances and opportunities that living in digitalized European societies have to offer. People with low digital competences are less likely to find and maintain stabile income jobs, access educational offer that could increase their qualifications and face a growing risk of permenent marginalization, hence the difference between advantaged and disadvantaged groups is growing. As European Union keeps promoting access to internet and computers and reaches successes on this field, the problem we define is that many people at risk are reluctant to use technologies to change their life situation. According to Digital economy & society summary published by Eurostat (2018 edition) 84% of the EU’s population uses internet. Hence, the challenge we would like to address is not simply lack of access to technology but rather lack of knowledge or willingess to use them for improving one’s life conditions. According to the document quoted earlier, some of the most common online activities are participating in social media, reading news and looking for information. By the activities foreseen in this project we would like to provide adult learners with innovative yet simple tools that would help them look at digital world from a new perspective and use the resources they have access to (mobilie phones, internet) to improve their life conditions and also contribute to the positive change in the local communities they live in. The two main methods we chosen to constitute the basis of this project are connected to the context described above. Participatory media approach is very inclusive and aims at empowering both individuals and groups to raise their digital competences, but most importantly to raise their voice and advocate issues that are important for them, both stating what prevents them from development and helping them developing realistic plans for improvement that, in a long term, shall help them becoming more independent, successful citizens of Europe. We find it crucial to conduct this project transnationally as the problem we identified is a common European challenge, but the solutions to address it should be also adjusted to different realities existing in different European societies.
Target groups:
1. Adult people at risk of exclusion due to various factors, such as low education/low skills level; unemployment/low income jobs; living in geographically disadvantaged areas (either distance rural or deprived urban comminities); having migration/refugee/minority background.
2. Educators and personnel working with adults at risk.
The specific objectives of this project are as follows:
1. Promoting ICT uptake amongst adult learners at therefore prevent them from permanent social exclusion
2. Raising the professional capacities of educators and other personnel working with adult learners at risk, especially as for equipping them with practical methodologies that will help them organize activities that are specifically addressing the needs of their target gorups
3. Developing an innovative educational output (digitalized training course) as a way of empowering excluded groups and promoting active, digital citizenship.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 80786 Eur

Project Coordinator

FUNDACJA AUTOKREACJA & Country: PL

Project Partners

• Upstream Stories
• Mine Vaganti NGO