PROJECT SUMMARY

KA205 - Strategic Partnerships for youth

The Digital Cultural Designer (DCD) Project consists of extending and developing the digital skills and competences of young people especially in the field of culture aiming to improve cultural education through innovative online tools and methods. As young people are the main users of social media nowadays and as 2020 is the new digital era there is a need to increase the digital awareness of youth and develop their skills in IT and other technology contexts, increasing their knowledge and active participation in the activities of DCD Project and in their societies in general. Young people are the future digital leaders and entrepreneurs as youth entrepreneurship and digitalisation are of the main priorities of the European Union for 2020-2021. The project aims also to introduce young adults to the concept of open data allowing them to learn and experiment with open data, corresponding to their own needs. The digital natives of today are the data literates of tomorrow. On top of that, it’s also an age group that starts to invest their own development and self-actualisation. The natives themselves and society can benefit from it. By making the open data topic understandable for youth, young people can easily experiment through interactive video series, animated clips, expert interviews and then more and more young people might try to cross the open data bridge. They can point out problems, select data based on their needs and give creative input on how to transform all this into an application. It’s important that open data become truly open to young people, as this will lead towards more and better use of it. Addressing young adults in a visual, interactive and non-linear manner, is a good way to make open data easy approachable. So, it is a must to transform digital natives into open data literates. ​

  • The project will bring together 6 partners from 6 different countries (UK, CY, IT, SI, LT, IS) wishing to strengthen youth digital entrepreneurship. The main activities of the project are:
  • To make national groups of experts in the LOD management for cultural activities, involving young people in order to improve and develop their digital skills concerning IT skills and data management. The experts groups will be trained through pilot courses that will test and explore open data experiments at national level improving the curriculum of young adults for the management of the LOD in the field of cultural activities. The curriculum aims to promote educational and professional mobility, starting in the countries Partners and then the disseminate the impact in other countries too.
  • To explore museum activities, libraries and archives or other pilot projects for empowering youth in management of cultural experiences also implemented through LOD, with the set up of thematic cultural digital skills and tools. The activities will involve groups of young people, invited to set up specific digital and cultural competences. The activities will start during the project and will be structurally embedded into the cultural institutions and programmes triggering benchmarking processes.
  • Implementation and open data organisation processes and development of cultural awareness in different sectors. For each Partner Country the level of specific intervention area will be identified.
  • Development of a European network for youth organizations working in cultural and technology fields for the continuous development of innovation with particular attention to innovation and online cultural and digital services.
  • Improving usability and attractiveness of virtual cultural experiences between virtual and physical experience, involving user groups in testing phases. Particular attention will be given to the involvement of schools, arts academies that will proactively participate to the design and implementation of users activities (in particular those one addressing educational and training activities).

Impact on youth:

  • Enable understanding of EU culture diversity, needs and values;
  • Explore and test their digital skills;
  • Acquired tools for cultural needs in local communities;
  • Promote personal development, youth entrepreneurship and leadership;
  • Enable a full understanding about EU diverse cultures, values and the new digital era ‘Digital Europe’;

Impact at national and EU level:

  • Increased ICT skills and knowledge of young people;
  • Raise awareness about cultural needs of local communities through awareness of needed cultural and digital skills and qualifications gained through their participation in the developed of ICT trainings and courses;
  • Facilitated recognition of the online courses, modules and the methodology by formal structures and institutions, depending on the national priorities and commitments;
  • Tackle the digital skills gap in Europe coherent and comprehensive support for building up the digital skills needed to support reskilling and upskilling in Europe.