Digital Security for Senior Citizens Erasmus Project

Project Title

Digital Security for Senior Citizens

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 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Access for disadvantaged; Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning

Project Summary

The European Union aims to ensure that people live in an area of freedom, security and justice, without internal frontiers. Europeans need to feel confident that, wherever they move within Europe, their freedom and their security are well protected, in full compliance with the Union’s values, including the rule of law and fundamental rights. In recent years new and complex threats have emerged highlighting the need for further synergies and closer cooperation at all levels. Many of today’s security concerns originate from instability in the EU’s immediate neighbourhood and changing forms of radicalisation, violence and terrorism. Threats are becoming more varied and more international, as well as increasingly cross-border and cross-sectorial in nature.

Cybersecurity is one of the most important and ‘hot topics’ within the European Commission, but the policy level focus, naturally is on Strategic planning at Pan-European level, with a strong focus on IoT, Industry, Digital infrastructure, Education and other fast moving industries and sectors which are vulnerable to cybersecurity and data breaches. This is highlighted by the initiation of a Network of National Coordination Centres, a Cybersecurity Competence Community and a European Cybersecurity Industrial, Technology and Research Competence Centre by the European Commission in 2017. By 2022, cybersecurity ratings will become as important as credit ratings for businesses and websites (Gartner Innovation Insight for Security Rating Services, 2018).

It is within this European context that our project focuses on promoting Erasmus+ amongst seniors citizens and older generations at local and regional levels. Our needs analysis and project research shows that this priority highlights senior citizens as a portion of the European population which is particularly underrepresented within European projects, and arguably, benefits the least from such initiatives as the Erasmus+ programme. It is through the this overarching project aim, the DiSC project will support elderly individuals in acquiring and developing the basic skills and key competences (based on, and related to the DigComp Digital Competency Framework). For majority of later generations, these skills are learned subconsciously, embedded within day-to-day activities in the socioeconomic and cultural environment they grew up in. The project will support and reinforce the development of these key digital competences for all elderly European citizens throughout their life. In a world where technology and, in turn, digital threats, scams and online dangers are developing more quickly each year, we aim to ensure this underrepresented group are able to benefit from an increased level of self-awareness through the use of innovative learning tools to safeguard their own digital wellbeing at a grass roots level.

Within this transnational context, the objectives of this project are:
– To educate senior citizens on the types of digital dangers and their consequences
– To build the digital capacity of senior citizens to recognise and proactively adapt to digital security threats and scams
– To lay the foundations for the implementation and uptake of targeted digital security policies at a higher/systemic level
– To enhance critical thinking amongst senior citizens relating to digital security

The direct target group is low-skilled senior citizens aged 55+.
The indirect target group is organisations and trainers focused on upskilling and increasing the ICT and digital competence capacity of the direct target group.

The project will produce the following key deliverables:
1. Framework of Digital Security Competences (IO1)
2. Interactive Benchmarking Tool for Digital Security Competences in Europe (IO2)
3. Interactive Online Board Game on Digital Security (IO3)
4. Piloting and Impact Assessment Report and Policy Recommendations (IO4)

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 181070 Eur

Project Coordinator

STOWARZYSZENIE CENTRUM WSPIERANIA EDUKACJI I PRZEDSIEBIORCZOSCI & Country: PL

Project Partners

• INNOVATION HIVE
• E-SENIORS: INITIATION DES SENIORS AUX NTIC ASSOCIATION
• Cuiablue Ltd
• INSTALOFI LEVANTE SL