INCLUdiNG: INCLUsive DIgital capacities for youNGsters

We are immersed in an Era in which the development of ICTs has been growing too fast. Unfortunately, the provision of digital literacy in schools and other education centres has not been developed at the same speed. As a result of this, youngsters do not have solid tools for their professional life that allow them to fully participate in the society. Youngsters have basic skills and are in touch with the most popular tools, although in some cases, these are not the most appropriate for their professional paths. This specially occurs with youngsters who are at risk of marginalisation or have fewer opportunities. They face obstacles to access to high quality education and digital sources/devices. They are not aware of the benefits the Digital Era brings and do not have access to advanced and professional applications. The report Being young in Europe Today- Digital World, from Eurostat (2016) shows alarming statistics from young people. Only half of youngsters have created presentations or documents that integrate text, pictures, tables or charts (59%) and used a spreadsheet (52 %).

The lack of skills in youngsters is addressing a big challenge in Europe. With the introduction of ever more sophisticated digital technologies, having sufficiently skilled people to develop and use these technologies is essential, as now-a-days it has delivered negative consequences such as:

-Unemployment
-Social exclusion in youngsters
-Inappropriate use of technologies (cyberbullying, fake news, etc.)
-No fully exploitation of new digital technologies, etc.

Our strategic partnership, composed by AENIE, Permacultura Cantabria and Future in Perspective, carried out a Context Analysis, Focus Groups and Gap Analysis that demonstrate an urgent need to tackle this situation.

Objective 1: To exchange ICT knowledge and tools focused on Political, Economic (Efficiency), Social and Technological perspectives.

Activities:

*Participatory Visits in Portugal and Ireland to share all the knowledge and tools each partner apply within their organisations linked with the 4 perspectives.

Objective 2: To create a new methodology for the development of lifelong digital capacities.

Activities:

*Creation of an Intellectual Output: We will create a new methodology which will be based on the knowledge acquired in Ireland and Portugal. The methodology will be documented in an interactive book that will be used by youth workers, young learners and organisations. The final versions of the book will be in English, Portuguese, Spanish and Irish.

*Course in Spain: We will carry out a course in Spain to transfer the new methodology to youth workers and youngsters and to evaluate the interactive book.

Objective 3: To empower youth with lifelong learning digital capacities.

*Dissemination campaign: Through a strong dissemination campaign, youth communities will have access to the interactive book and will be able to acquire lifelong learning ICTs capacities. The dissemination campaign includes different activities, such as:

-Multiplier Events: We will carry out one conference in Portugal, Ireland and Spain to disseminate the intellectual output.

-Internal workshops: The participants who attended the course in Spain will organize internal workshops to transfer the methodology to their communities.

In addition we will carry out 3 transnational meetings for the efficient project management:
-Kick of Meeting in Spain.

-Intermediate Meeting in Ireland

-Final Meeting in Portugal

All learning activities (Participatory visits, Course in Spain, internal workshops, etc.), as well as the interactive book, will be based in non-formal learning.

As a summary of the impact of the project, young people and youth workers acquire lifelong capacities that compose the new methodology: Digital skills in Political, Economic-Efficiency, Social and Technological perspectives.

We also expect that our strategic partnership contributes to foster inclusion in young people in our countries. The development of high quality digital skills will empower youngsters in their professional life.

We will carry out a Participants Selection Plan composed by these tasks:

1.Preparation of a Call of Participants: We will have conference calls through Skype to prepare a call to select the participants. The selection criteria is:

Age: Young people-18 to 30 years old; youth worker-older than 18

-Be part of our organisation
-Availability to travel
-Need and interest to broaden new activities in our organisations
-Need and interest to learn, apply and transfer the INCLUdiNG methodology
-Interest and commitment to carry out internal workshops and develop future projects with our organisation
-Interest and commitment to facilitate social inclusion
-Being a positive influencer within the organisation and youth communities.
-Show strong motivation to participate in the project
-Capacity to communicate in English
-People with an open character: friendly, motivated to have an exchange experience abroad, meet people with other visions and cultures and establish a good relationship.
-Willing to collaborate actively, with their interventions and their engagement in the project activities
-Commitment to participate in some tasks from the dissemination campaign.

We will evaluate positively and give preference to disadvantaged young people and youth workers, specially facing the obstacles described in the next question. More than half of all the participants selected will face disadvantaged situations. We will also pay special attention to gender balance, selecting the same number of men and women participants and we will make them participate as equal, so all the voices and
ideas can be heard.

2. Call of Participants Dissemination: Each organisation will disseminate the open call within their staff and communities through our websites, social networks, etc.

3. Call of Participants Assistance: The coordinator in each organisation will provide all the necessary assistance in submitting their application as well as answering all the further questions regarding the project. He will also provide special assistance to disadvantaged youngsters in filling their application, gathering their documentation, etc., if needed.

4. Selection of Participants: This task is divided into 2 filters. The organisations will check the documentation of all the participants and separate the ones who fully comply with the
documentation needed.

This first group of participants will be analysed and evaluated individually according to the selection criteria and profiles needed in order to select the final participants. The organisations involved will evaluate to have different kind of profiles, as we know that a diverse group with cultural differences, gender and perspective leads to critical thinking and promotes non-discrimination between the team.

Also, we will facilitate the access and participation in the project to people in disadvantaged situations.

5. Results Notification: The coordinator in each entity will notify the results to all the young people and youth workers who applied to the call of participants, even if they were not selected. We will open an appeal period of 15 days.

We will have a meeting with the participants selected to provide information regarding the project, responsibilities, requirements, dates, learning activities, etc.

The project participants are separated into 3 main groups:

*Group 1: Coordinators

The group 1 is formed by 2 project coordinators (project coordinator and dissemination campaign coordinator) from each organisation.

*Group 2: Intellectual output developers.

These 2 people have been selected before submitting the project, as we need their inputs and comments as experts, to correctly plan the tasks to be done to create the interactive book. For this, we carried out the selection process and the criteria mentioned above, adding this specific criteria:

-Research capacity, analysis and definition of new methodologies.
-Commitment and motivation to elaborate intellectual output.
-Experience in ICTs
-Experience in the development of interactive books
-Writing capacity
-Ability to innovate
-Ability to travel to the transnational learning activities

*Group 3: The group 3 are 2 young participants and 2 youth workers from our organisations from Portugal, Spain and Ireland who will attend the course in Spain. The selection process will start once the project is approved.

1st Transnational meeting

A kick off meeting will be held in Spain (Cantabria), in May 2021. The organisations involved will review the project proposal evaluation, working plan, task distribution and deadlines
assigned to each participant, in order to make the necessary adjustments. Also the budget approved of each partner will be explained. This meeting will make the project and the
preparation phase start officially. They will also discuss the Participants Selection Process. In addition, the organisations will be able to know the venue place where the course will be
provided.

2nd Transnational meeting

This meeting will be held in Ireland, by the beginning of May 2022, after the testing of the intellectual output is done. The purpose of this meeting is to carry out an intermediate
evaluation of the Knowledge and Skills Acquisition Phase and the creation of the interactive book.
We will discuss the corrections to be made to the book, as a result of the previous testing. Also activities such as dissemination, preparation, reports’ preparation, budget available, etc.
will be discussed.

As a summary, we will compile a SWOT matrix, detailing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, at this stage of the project. The SWOT analysis will be particularly
useful in adjusting the dissemination strategy and involving new stakeholders that are a key to the project.
The information obtained during the meeting will be also used to ascertain the preliminary results of the project, which will be shown to the community in the dissemination campaign.

3rd Transnational meeting

By the beginning of December 2022, we will hold a transnational meeting in Portugal which objective is to perform the final evaluation. To do so, the following topics will be reviewed:

Project Phases’ Performance, objectives achieved and results obtained, impact evaluation, issues encountered and the solutions found, the level of satisfaction and learning achieved by the participants that reflect their individual assessments, etc. We will identify collaborative opportunities and the development of new sustainable projects in the near future.

The Intelectual Output will be an interactive and innovative book and it will comply with the following conditions:

-The Interactive book will have the potential to change the way to learn and acquire information because of their interactivity and convenience. Although traditional picture books might include words, pictures, and graphics, this interactive book will include multimodal features such as sounds, animations, videos, etc. The benefits for engaging readers and differentiating instruction are immense. The interactive book is a good solution for catching young people’s and youth workers’ attention to read the whole book and motivating them to acquire ICTs skills.

-The book will develop professionals’ skills of youth workers, improving the quality of their activities and trainings, from the point of view of digital inclusion of young learners.

-It will have easy and effective explanations so that young people can also acquire this new knowledge by themselves and can benefit directly from this intellectual output. This will be useful for young people around the world who is not mentored by a youth worker or organisation.

-Regarding transferability, the book is intended for any youth worker or young person around the world. We expect the English, Portuguese and Spanish versions could benefit not only European Countries, but most of the countries in America. The book and its language will be transversal and intersectoral widening the project scope to other target groups (adults, schools, etc.) from any sector.

Multiplier Event E1

1 day long local conference will be organized in Portugal by AENIE.

Multiplier Event E2

1 day long local conference will be organized in Spain by Permacultura Cantabria.

Multiplier Event E3

1 day long local conference will be organized in Ireland by Future in Perspective.

The main objective of these conferences is to disseminate the interactive book (intellectual output) developed throughout the project. It goes in line with one of the 3 general objectives from the project: O3: To empower youth with lifelong learning digital capacities.

They will be aimed at involving different people with an interest in the new INCLUdiNG Methodology developed, digital tools, fostering lifelong skills in the field of youngsters, such as youth workers, young learners, civic activists from youth organisations, experts, volunteers, etc. People that have influence on the shape of curriculums in the educational youth organisations, institutions responsible for educational and civic youth policy in Portugal/Spain/Ireland will be also invited. At least, 30 participants will attend the event.

Activity Details (C1)

-Date: August 2021
-Phase: Knowledge and Skills Acquisition Phase
-Leader Organisation: AENIE
-Task coordinator: Jaime Araujo

Future in Perspective and Permacultura Cantabria will have a 3-day participatory visit to AENIE in Portugal.
The objective of the activity is to transfer the best practices and tools regarding the politics and social ICTs perspectives in which AENIE has experience.

During this visit AENIE will involve the participation of different organisations who carry out initiatives in the youth field:

-Dotesfera
-Buinho Fablab
-João Marreiros Design
-Beja City Hall/Beja Schools
-University of Évora

Activity Details (C2)

-Date: December 2021
-Phase:Knowledge and Skills Acquisition Phase
-Leader Organisation: Future in Perspective
-Task coordinator: Philip Land

AENIE and Permacultura Cantabria will have a 3-day participatory visit to Future in Perspective in Ireland.
The objective of the activity is to transfer the best practices and tools regarding Economic-efficiency ICTs perspectives in which Future in Perspective has experience.

During this visit Future in Perspective will involve the participation of different organisations that carry out initiatives in the youth field:

-The Cavan Centre
-Youthwork Ireland Monaghan
-Macra Na feirme
-Louth Meath Education and Training Board (LMETB)
-Meath Community Rural & Local Development Partnership

Activity Details (C3)

Phase Knowledge and Skills Acquisition
Leader Organisation: PC, Oscar Argumosa
Place: Ramales de la Victoria

Objectives:
Transfer the INCLUdiNG Methodology
Evaluation of the book (More information at the IO Section)
Define new Erasmus + projects

To reach the project’s objectives (O), their specific goals (G) and the expected Results (R) were defined:

O1: To exchange ICT knowledge & tools focused on Political, Economic (Efficiency), Social and Technological perspectives.
G1 To exchange the best practices and techniques carried out by AENIE, Permacultura Cantabria and Future in Perspective in the 4 ICTs perspectives.
R1.1 Participatory visit in Portugal
R1.2 Participatory visit in Ireland

G2 To deepen into initiatives & best practices in the 4 ICTs perspectives done in Portugal, Spain and Ireland
R2.1 Round tables with associated partners to discover what has been done in these countries

O2: To create a new methodology for the development of lifelong digital capacities.
G3 To design and evaluate the INCLUdiNG methodology so that youth communities acquire ICTs skills focused to the 4 perspectives.
R3.1 Interactive Book: Intellectual Output that will document the new methodology and its tools
R3.2 A training course in Spain where the book and methodology will be transferred and evaluated

O3: To empower youth with lifelong learning digital capacities.
G4 To transfer and put in practice the knowledge acquired on the training course in Spain
R4.1 Internal workshops provided by the participants who attended the course in Spain. They will transfer the INCLUdiNG methodology to their organisations and communities.

G5: To create awareness of the importance of acquiring digital skills as a prevention of social exclusion.
R5.1 A project dissemination campaign at local/regional/national and international level (details stated in section “Dissemination”).
R5.2 Each partner will carry out a multiplier event in their country to disseminate the intellectual output.