- What is the Digital Travellers project?
Digital exclusion is a real threat today, with currently almost half (44%) of Europeans lacking even the most basic digital skills, according to EU data. Populations who are the most at risk of digital exclusion include people living in rural areas, or coming from low-income backgrounds, elderly citizens, migrants and refugees, and to a lesser extent school drop outs.
With more and more daily activities being done online – from filing tax returns, to applying for social benefits or a job, online banking, or booking a train ticket – those who are unable to perform such tasks online due to a lack of skills are at serious risk of social exclusion.
This is where libraries come in. The 65,000 libraries, which welcome more than 100 million visitors across Europe every year, have already adapted their offer to the needs of their users in the digital age, not only offering free access to Wi-Fi and computers but also leading the way in basic digital skill development.
The Digital Travellers project will leverage this unique network. With their help the objective is to go one step further, and through a pilot show how to improve digital education of vulnerable populations, on a large scale, efficiently and at a minimum cost, using ‘a train-the-trainer’ methodology, and sharing best practices and resources from partner countries.
Eighty volunteer librarians in four European countries, Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands and Poland, will be trained, given access to a large pool of tested resources, and asked to run digital skills workshops with target groups at risk of digital exclusion, such as senior or unemployed citizens, and school dropouts.
Pre and post-session assessment of knowledge will be carried out for meaningful conclusions to be drawn. Results will be communicated and methodology shared. All support material and resources will be made available to the largest number of librarians via an online resource database.
In order to expand the project further and push for policies to support digital and social exclusion, relevant stakeholders in the field of non-formal education and policy makers will be reached out to by means of National Conferences and the Generation Code event which takes place in Brussels every year.
- How do I navigate the DT resources database?
DT resources are categorized under 6 competency areas: Operation of devices, Information & data literacy, Communication & collaboration, Digital content creation, Safety and problem solving. Under Library, you’ll find a search engine with various filters to help you zoom in what resources are relevant to your needs. You can also search by keywords using the search box on the top right of the homepage if you are looking for a specific topic.
- What is the Digital Competence Framework for Citizens (DigCom2.1)?
‘The DigComp is a tool to improve citizens’ digital competence elaborated by the Human Capital and Employment Unit on behalf of the Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion of the European Commission.’ (The Digital Competence Framework for Citizens – European Commission – Joint Research Center)
The database 6 competency areas, 5 of them from the DigComp and 8 proficiency levels.
Competency areas
- Operation of devices
- Information and data literacy
- Communication and collaboration
- Digital content creation
- Safety
- Problem solving
Proficiency levels
1-2 Foundation
3-4 Intermediate
5-6 Advanced
7-8 Highly specialized
For more details please refer to : https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC106281/web-digcomp2.1pdf_(online).pdf
- Will I be put on a lot of mailing lists if I register or subscribe?
Your contact details will not be shared with any third parties. We may occasionally send information to the database users. If you do not want to receive such information, please indicate so by ticking the appropriate box on the ‘create my account page’.
- Who is eligible to register to the resources database?
Anyone can register and access the library of resources. When you create an account you will be asked to confirm which is your current role and in which capacity you wish to use the resources.
- How do I find resources which are relevant to my needs?
There are different ways you can find resources relevant to your needs.
You can either use the search engine located on the home page, browse through the library with the help of the DigComp categories and sub-categories, or fine-tune your search within the 6 categories by using the filtering mechanism.
- Why are some resources in English, and some in other languages?
Five countries participated in the original workgroup which put together this database of resources (Belgium, Finland, France, the Netherlands Poland), and contributed their resources in their local language. Additionally, a large number of resources were translated into English to facilitate their use by other countries.
All resources, irrespective of the language they are in, include a summary of their content in English. With time we will likely add more translated versions of existing resources.
- Do I have to pay to use/download the resources?
The vast majority of resources are free to be downloaded and used. When this is not the case and specific conditions apply, this is specifically mentioned on the resource page, in the section called ‘copyright’ under the ‘description’.
- How do I delete my Digital Travellers Database account?
If you would like to delete your Digital Travellers Database account, please email us at digital.travellers@bibliosansfrontieres.org
If you have other questions that are not answered here, please get in touch with your local contact person by using this form