About
ENGAGE_YOUTH: digital tools for participation and active citizenship June – December 2010
Today’s digital age has introduced many exciting new opportunities for youth workers as well as some significant challenges. Across Europe, young people are producing and consuming new media at an unprecedented rate, claiming the role of the producers of our present and future European culture. However, those that are not digitally included are in danger of being socially excluded as well. Policy makers across Europe now promote media literacy and the use of ICT as key to improving citizens’ quality of life, social participation and cohesion.
In this context, ENGAGE will support twenty youth workers from the UK, Germany, Greece and Denmark to address the challenge of working with young people as participants and cultural producers in Europe. Participants will explore, test and apply accessible digital tools that help to extend and enhance their practice and help them to sustain young people’s positive engagement with European society. Participants will develop new technology-enabled approaches to the practice of youth work, ultimately supporting the young people they work with to become active and engaged European citizens.
ENGAGE participants will:
- Develop innovative approaches to youth engagement that enable creative exploration through digital technology.
- Share best practice and visit inspirational European projects.
- Apply new tools to extend and sustain their engagement with the young people they work with.
- Develop skills and literacies to become effective digital communicators and content producers (through podcasting, webcasting and online exhibition).
Project Summaries
Deutsch Zusammenfassung des Projekts
Project Partners
Watershed, Bristol, UK (lead partner)
Watershed fosters cultural exchange and promotes engagement, enjoyment, diversity and participation in film, media arts and the creative economy. With audiences at the heart of the organisation, Watershed delivers a year round world-facing programme of films, events, festivals, artist commissions and conferences. Watershed is a member of Europa Cinemas and enjoys active relationships with cultural venues, industry festivals and media institutes across Europe. Watershed acts as an entrepreneur and ideas incubator. Through initiatives like the Pervasive Media Studio, we support and promote research and knowledge exchange between the creative, computing and communications sectors.
In 2009, Watershed was named as an example of best practice for fostering creativity and innovation by the DG Education and Culture of the European Commission in the context of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation.
www.watershed.co.uk
www.dshed.net
www.pmstudio.co.uk
Medienhaus, Hannover, Germany
Since 2007, Medienhaus Hannover has delivered media skills development and media literacy programmes within Hannover for youth groups, schools and public stakeholders. Medienhaus runs “Abdrehen Hannover”, a city-wide project for young people launched in January 2008 in co-operation with the department of education and qualification. This project is the city’s portal for youth voice and positive participation.
Resource Centre for Educational Development, Aarhus, Denmark
The Resource Centre for Educational Development is one of four resource centres managed by the Education and Pedagogy department in the City Council of Aarhus. The primary function of each centre is to promote and support the development of youth institutions and schools. The Resource Centre for Educational Development contributes to the development and implementation of “Learning and Development” and “Youth and Parent Engagement” strategies in close association with youth institutions and schools. The Resource Centre for Educational Development works at integrating the different pedagogical and educational initiatives concerning children and youth ranging from the age of 0 – 18 years.
Welfare Enterprise of Technology and Education, Municipality of Amaroussion, Greece
The Welfare Enterprise of Technology and Education of Municipality of Amaroussion is ratified by the Municipality to promote and implement the use of new technologies and to promote digital literacy. Named objectives are the elaboration and implemenation of research programs and new technologies; provision of advisory techniques for the development and improvement of information systems; the provision of training programmes for citizens and particularly for young people to develop media literacy; the provision of technical support for the Municipality’s departments, including employee training and ICT skills development; and to develop and manage youth projects that give young people the opportunity to combine learning with fun and develop them to become a creative force of a future Europe.
