Being online is a way of living for young Europeans. In 2019, 94 % of young people in the EU made daily use of the internet, compared with 77 % for the whole population (Eurostat, Being young in Europe today – digital world, 2020). However, young people do not use the full potential of digital technologies to access information on their civic rights, on health and education issues, and to participate in decision-making processes. The most common online civic activities for young people 16-29 y.o. were interaction with public authorities and obtaining information from public authorities’ websites. Only 15% of young people posted their opinions on civic or political issues and 17% took part in online consultations and voted to define civic or political issues. There is a clear gap in the way young people use digital technologies, and this gap is even wider when it comes to disadvantaged youth.

ACTIon – Promoting active citizenship through civic education and active online participation of youth role models – comes to fill in this gap. This Erasmus+ KA3 Social inclusion project started at the beginning of 2021 and will roll out over the next three years. It will train young people on how to use digital technologies to participate actively in their community, and in society as a whole. Partners will develop a tailor-made training programme for youth role models from disadvantaged groups (Roma, migrants) that can be used with the youth in both formal and non-formal education.

Partners will use three good practices:

The Popular Opinion Leader (POL)

POL is a community-level intervention and prevention approach, utilizing youth role models to effect educational and behavioural changes in a community. It is based on the Diffusion of Innovation Theory, which posits that behaviours typically follow adoption by opinion leaders and spread through a social network. The origins of the good practice are with the Center for AIDS Intervention Research (CAIR), Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Initially POL was developed as community-based intervention for HIV prevention. Within Erasmus+ yMIND project (youth-mind.eu) the role model practice was adapted with primary focus on prevention and behaviour change for reducing violence, gender inequalities and rigid gender role perceptions in Roma and other ethnic minority communities. The model will be further developed/extended in the context of this project to provide training to young peer leaders on social and civic competences, health, education, and media literacy.

The F.I.R.E. – From Idea to Reality and Execution – app

The app “F.I.R.E.- From Idea to Realty & Execution” was developed by OSF. It is an open-access education platform in the form of a mobile application for young active citizens and youth NGOs building a minimum standard competence in management, communication and leadership – the three modules currently available on the app.
The tool is youth-friendly, easy-to-use and very suitable for independent learning, especially in remote and rural areas with greater distance to offline training services. The App provides a transition from face-to-face training to distance education. The existing three modules will be complemented and adapted by ACTIon.

At the end of each module you will find a questionnaire that will help you to check your knowledge and to order your certificate. (click here for more information)

The OPIN youth e-participation platform

OPIN is an European-wide online participation platform designed for youth. It is available in ten European languages that will be extended to cover additional languages during ACTIon (Bulgarian). OPIN is easy-to-navigate and offers templates for several different types of participation processes, from brainstorming to discussing texts or conducting polls. The projects create a spirit of cooperativeness, engagement and fun in the mutual process of learning, and are to a great extent self-regulated. The goal is to combine offline and online participation methods and foster active participation of the youth groups. Since 2015, OPIN has been developed by Liquid democracy, who will be involved in its upgrade.

The project’s main target groups are adolescents and young people (aged 14-25), youth activists, volunteers and informal peer leaders in non-formal education and community settings like youth organisations and community education centres.

(click here for more information)

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