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The much-anticipated ALL DIGITAL 2023 Summit: ‘’Skills for Digital Tomorrow’’, hosted by ALL DIGITAL, Algebra University College and Telecentar from 25-27 September, brought together more than 150 European leaders, educators, trainers, policymakers, stakeholders, and industry experts from various digital skills domains for a dynamic and inclusive exchange of knowledge and ideas.

As part of the European Year of Skills, the ALL DIGITAL 2023 Summit put the spotlight on the pressing need to empower and equip the European workforce with the essential digital skills required to thrive in the rapidly evolving digital landscape and the evolving job market. Speakers discussed strategies for bridging the digital divide, empowering marginalized communities, and ensuring equal access to digital resources. The Summit highlightеd the importance of digital inclusion, ensuring that no one is left behind in the digital transformation.

HESED participated in the event аs part of the ACTion project, with presentation of the piloting experience with the two analogue training programs DigiPAC and MOLA from the perspective of the young people who participated in the piloting in Bulgaria.

We performed a workshop: MOLA and Youth Community’ Activation Potential: Set Me on F.I.R.E. We presented with excitement the digital adaptation of the two analogue training programs DigiPAC and MOLA – the mobile application  F.I.R.E. app , suitable for individual online training for young people, developed by Open Space Foundation. We also discussed with the participants our vision for smart youth work and the opportunities for applying digital technologies in youth work with vulnerable groups.

The Action workshop also included interactive presentations on the topics of Netiquette and digital citizenship, as well as structured discussion on policy recommendations for policymakers on digital participation and digital citizenship of young people from vulnerable groups in Europe.

Europe’s digital future was revealed in September in Zagreb, we are glad that HESED and the young people we work with are part of it.

On September 17, 2023, the day of Sofia, the Bulgarian partners in Action project- HESED and OSF, participated in the festival “Democratic Mosaic: Civil Society Scene. 

During the festival we had the opportunity to meet many interesting young people, as well as to exchange ideas with colleagues, youth workers and organizations working with different causes for young people in Bulgaria. We presented the Action training programs: DigiPac and MOLA, as well as their adaptation for individual learning in a digital environment – the mobile application F.I.R.E. The young visitors had the opportunity to gain experience with the application, as well as to fill the media literacy test, and to evaluate their knowledge on the topic. Action activists Savka Savova and Pepa Peneva shared with the colleagues from the civil sector our understanding of smart youth work, and discussed the possibilities for the application of digital technologies youth work.

The festival “Democratic Mosaic: Civil Society Scene” was organized by  the Citizen Participation Forum together with the National Youth Forum. The aim of the cause is to increase the recognition of the basic democratic values among citizens and to introduce them to the role they themselves and civil society organizations have in the preservation and development of democracy. The program of the event, in the heart of the capital, included various discussions and panels, where experts and youth activists discussed actual topics such as civic and youth participation, activism, social inclusion of people from vulnerable groups, community development and many others. The festival was attended by over 30 civil society organizations working with young people to promote positive change.

Health and Social Development Foundation/HESED will participate in ALL DIGITAL Summit – Skills for Digital Tomorrow, the premier event for learning and networking in the digital world. Taking place from 25th to 27th September 2023 in the beautiful city of Zagreb, this three-day event will bring together experts from around Europe to share their knowledge and insights on the latest developments in digital education and training.

HESED will present its experience in providing digital skills training to young people from vulnerable groups, as well as the digitization of the training for the activation of opinion leaders (MOLA) through the digital application F.I.R.E. of the Open Space Foundation.

With a packed schedule of lectures, workshops, presentations of projects and panel discussions, you’ll have the opportunity to learn about the best practices and guidelines for the development of digital competencies. You’ll also have the chance to network with other like-minded individuals and explore the latest trends and technologies in the digital world.

We look forward to our presentation!

On April 26 in Athens was held a workshop for policies aimed at young people under the ACTion project. The event together with the project partners was attended by representatives of municipal administrations from Bulgaria, Greece and North Macedonia, who exchanged experience and ideas for the development of youth policies at local and national level in the field of development of the 21st century skills, digital education and youth participation.

The participants invited by Action Synergy – Vicky Georganta, educational advisor at the Institute of Educational Policy and Vasiliki Yakeimidou, School Advisor at Hellenic Open University, presented Greece’s inspiring experience in developing a National Program for 21st Century Skills (Ergastiria Dexiotiton) and its introduction into the Greek educational system.

Gotse Bumbaroski, Youth Officer at the Municipality of Prilep, North Macedonia, presented the youth initiatives implemented jointly with SEGA in the municipality and the activities in implementation of the Youth Act, which aims to promote youth participation and improve the opportunities of young people for development on the territory of the municipality.

The Deputy Mayor of Veliki Preslav Municipality, Mrs. Nina Asenova and the colleagues from Open Space presented their youth initiatives including participation of young people in the historical excavations of the old capital, improvement of the urban environment, creative projects.

HESED and Mrs. Ralitsa Gerasimova, Chief Expert “Social Activities and Healthcare” Samokov Municipality, presented the youth initiatives implemented in partnership under the project “One approach – many solutions. Model for Integrated Development (MID) in the town of Samokov”.

During the workshop we discussed the opportunities for disseminating the results of the piloting of the two training programs created under the project MOLA and DigiPAC. We shared our plans and dreams for the implementation of youth policies at local, national, and European level.

During the visit to Athens, we had the opportunity to visit the heart of the ancient Hellenic world – the Acropolis and to continue the discussions in an informal environment.

The ACTion team expresses its gratitude to all representatives of municipal administrations for their commitment to the problems of young people and to the search for working solutions for the development of youth policies at local level.

HESED started group for young opinion leaders in Kyustendil.

In mid-February was launched the second group of young mothers, who we want to encourage to become opinion leaders in their community. We invited young mothers from Kyustendil who are willing to improve their digital skills and help other young people improve the care for their children.

Why did we choose these young people?

· they are young and engaged neither in education nor in employment;

· they take care of their children at home and have limited contacts outside the family;

· they spend a lot of time online and communicate with their peers mainly through social networks.

How are we useful to them?

· We offer them the opportunity to see what their online image is and how others perceive them.

· We offer them easy algorithms to search for information that is useful to them and their children.

· We offer accessible means for detection of fake news and disinformation.

· We provide a database of verified online sources and materials related to raising children and help them extract the most important messages and how to apply them in their daily lives;

· We give them the opportunity to improve their skills for digital storytelling in order to be useful to other young people who have similar interests and searches.

· We help them to use popular online health platforms to facilitate their access to leading healthcare professionals and quality medical care.

Young people can combine having a good time with peers with learning useful skills, while their children are with them and participate in learning situations.

Do you want to have a cup of coffee with Teddy and MOLA?

On the 20th month of the project implementation, the partners finally gathered for a two-day partner meeting! HESED welcomed representatives of Action Sinergy from Greece, Nexus Institut from Germany, SEGA from North Macedonia, our colleagues and friends from Open Space who are developing project activities in northern Bulgaria. An important guest at the meeting was the external evaluator of the project from the UK.

On the first day the partners visited the MIR center of HESED in the Faculteta, Sofia. Our guests got acquainted with the services in the community center and took a walk around the neighborhood. In the spirit of the project, the first day of the meeting was held in hybrid with the special participation of Gabriela Ruseva from ALL Digital (Belgium) directly from Brussels.

On the second day the meeting continued in the House of Europe, with the courtesy of the Head of the European Commission Representation in Bulgaria.

Within the two meeting days we had the opportunity to discuss the piloting of the methodologies created within the project, to share the challenges we have met and the successes we have achieved.

We exchanged ideas how to activate young people from vulnerable communities in different national contexts, how to reach out different stakeholders, including politicians and youth policy experts. We became acquainted with the geography of Bulgaria while discussing all the points of piloting the methodologies of the project.

We paid special attention to the assessment of the first wave of piloting and planning the next steps in this process.

We were glad to learn that the OPIN online platform is almost ready to accept the first youth activists from our country with functionality in Bulgarian.

The mobile app F. I. R. E is in final stage of development and will soon present attractive digital training for young people on the topic of “Active Citizenship”.

Working with young people is very challenging, but it also brings a lot of fun and above all satisfaction with the results achieved!

We look forward to the next partner meeting in Athens in April 2023!

Summer offers promises of happy vacation moments, carelessness, social media entertainment, sea and romance. But before that, at the beginning of the summer 24 young people from 135 Secondary School “Jan Amos Komenski”, within the framework of their professional practice visited one of our community centers in Fakulteta district. We offered them a lot of emotions and a reason for serious reflection about their future in the profession of social workers by showing them our activities to support early childhood development, but also we offered them an unforgettable experience – training in civic education “Life in democracy” (Module   B, from the Digipack program developed by nexus).

Our guests were mixed group of Roma and Bulgarian children from the same school, located near the Roma neighborhood.

As part of the training, students exchanged knowledge and experience about specific activities and steps they could take in regard to fake news or irregularities online and shared ideas and knowledge with their peers.  There has also been a discussion about how much they can trust the news and which news feeds are reliable and which are not, which encourages students to look more critically at sources of information.

Discussions on various issues allowed students to express their point of view and were encouraged to defend sometimes opposite positions on the same issue.

We express our gratitude to the management of 135 Secondary School “Jan Amos Komenski” for the opportunity to communicate with these wonderful young people, especially Mrs. Dimana Vetova-Beleva for her dedication to the work, and the diligence she works for diversity to become a successful method of learning in the classroom.

in focus: ACTIon project

From 14 March to 14 April 2022 was held All Digital Week 2022 – a series of online events with presentations and discussions regarding the challenging youths’ online participation and promotions of digital tools for civic participation and education of young people online.

On 23 March 2022, the topic of discussion was: How to… support young people to use digital tools for active civic participation? in focus: ACTIon project. We presented to the participants in the forum our ideas on how to provide young people with digital tools for active civic participation:

• OPIN – an online platform where young people can exchange ideas, attract partners and work together on a topic of common interest and
• F.I.R.E. – mobile application that allows them to train and develop themselves no matter where they are and what time they have.

During the discussion the participants sought answers to two important questions:

• How do you in your work, activate young people to participate online?
• How can we make civic education more relevant for young people?

The participants shared their observations that young people are now tired of the hours spent in front of digital devices. It is difficult to attract them to participate in online training because of the COVID pandemic and the months of schooling conducted in a digital environment. Still there are some ideas how to approach the young people and involve them in online participation:

• The information should be presented interestingly, interactively and in popular language.
• The information should correspond to the personal online searches and needs of the young people, adapted to their reality.
• The school curriculum should provide a broader overlap of the topics of civic education
• The young people should be provided with access to online resources and programs that give them additional information and practice. This requires advertising and dissemination of tools already created.
• To work directly with the opinion leaders in the youth online networks and the influencers. Peer to peer is a model proven to be effective in youth work, in the field of civic education and youth activation.

The digital world increases the access to opportunities and information. The main task in our work for ACTIon project – Promoting active citizenship through civic education and active online participation, is to transmit this knowledge and skills to young people.

More information about the project can be found on the website: https://www.erasmus-action.eu/

The project is funded under the European Programme: Erasmus+, KA3 Social Inclusion through Education

Project partners:

• Nexus Institute for Cooperation Management and Interdisciplinary Research e.V, (nexus) Germany (coordinator)
• Health and Social Development Foundation (HESED), Bulgaria
• Open Space Foundation (OSF), Bulgaria
• ALL DIGITAL, Belgium
• Action Synergy S.A., Greece
• Coalition of Youth Organizations (SEGA), North Macedonia

We are happy to launch the online course of our project “Change the Change. Climate Change as a Challenge of Adult Education”. It is free of charge and accessible to all. Registration is very simple and quick.

The topics developed by project partners are:

• The greenhouse effect, the Paris Agreement and the world of tomorrow
• The management of waste
• Natural Disasters related to Climate Change
• Critics of climate protection policy
• Read and create the image of the climate change
• Popular Opinion Leader (POL) model for behavior change
• Reduce of water waste in non-privileged communities
• What comes first: climate protection or social justice? Is there a conflict of goals?
• An introduction to BioEconomics
• Creating a MOOC

The individual modules are in English – in easy language. They are aimed at adult education stakeholders and interested citizens.

Click here to register and to access the online course (activation from 07/02/22). After entering your name and password, you will receive a confirmation by e-mail and can then log in. You will find the introduction and an overview of the modules under “All courses”.

See also our article on EPALE, the European platform for adult education.

HESED was really interested to know the answers to those questions. The responses of the young people inspired us to work on the adaptation of Popular Opinion Leader (POL) model and its transformation to a Model opinion leaders` online activation (MOLA) in the frames of ACTIon project – Promoting active citizenship through civic education and active online participation of youth role models. More information about the project can be found on the website: https://www.erasmus-action.eu/. The project is funded under the European Programme: Erasmus+, KA3 Social Inclusion through Education

Who did we address our questions?

Young mothers 17-23 years old from two big Roma neighborhoods in Sofia, Bulgaria.

What did they tell us?

Most of the participants shared that they do have access to internet, and they use it mainly through their phones. Some of them stated that they have a computer / laptop, but rarely use it. It was difficult for the young people to point how much time they spent on the Internet. Part of the difficulty in determining time comes from the fact that mothers with young children use the Internet to engage their child’s attention, making its use almost non-stop during the day. Anyhow all respondents answered that they use internet every day for at least one hour.

Online Activities

Facebook was mentioned by all participants both as the main media platform on which they maintain a personal profile, and as the platform that they mainly and most often use on the Internet. They use google mainly to search information about games, movies, and TV series. Some participants shared that they had booked a holiday online last year. Most of the respondents pointed that they use internet to be in contact with their relatives and friends who are abroad.

Young mothers use internet for shopping – cloths and shoes for the children and the family. But they also like to buy accessories for beauty (cosmetics) and home – carpets, curtains, plates. Some of them pointed out that they are believers and watch videos and content related to their Christian beliefs.

Only one young person pointed out that she searches for jobs through the internet. Only one person shared that she follows groups of mothers on Facebook, and that she finds the information shared there useful. Regarding the pandemic, vaccines and other topical issues, they did not appear to actively search the Internet, but said that information “came out” on social media.

Most of them shared that they had experiences with bad behavior online. They pointed out some popular examples for bad behavior that became popular through Tik-Tok and endanger peoples` lives, such as children swallowing magnet. Another similar example is a video with children laying down on footpaths in traffic. Some of the young people shared that they feel frustrated that they cannot use some of the online platforms because they find the access difficult.

Most examples of good things that are done with the help of social media / websites, etc. were related to donation campaigns and charity for various causes. Only one of the participants pointed out the opportunities for communication and finding useful information as an example of good things that can be done online.

What we`ve learned? Internet is an essential part of everyday` life of young Roma women. They are consumers of digital content and that the main purpose of their internet use is entertainment and social contacts. They are very exposed to disinformation and fake news and lack health literacy and critical thinking for competent decision making on health issues based on information gained online. The young mothers are exposed to negative experiences online and need to improve their digital skills to improve their online wellbeing.