This analysis is based on practices collected by the partners of the DIYW ROAD project, with a focus on the EU and national contexts of the partner countries. It is not an exhaustive or comprehensive study of all the diverse practices involving digitality in youth education. Rather, it is an exploratory analysis aimed at identifying issues that have not yet been addressed systematically or comprehensively. It seeks to challenge what is often taken for granted and to explore how digital transformation intersects with democracy, citizenship, and rights within the field of youth work. The analysis is divided in to three main chapters:

Environment and digitality: making environment a key subject of digital transformation. This dimension is important since it connects the twin transitions (digitality and climate) we face in our societies.

Identity and digitality: acknowledging digitality/onlife as key determining condition in adolescence of a youth which grows up under the condition of a digitally co-determined life, where digital key transformations are not yet to happen, but already happened.

Governance of digitalisation: asking for aspects of empowerment, active participation and access to decision-making on technology governance affecting the socio-political dimension of digitalisation and youth. In how far are young people – as the demographic cohort in Europe that is democratically ruled out – supported to govern decisions on technology.

Each of the chapters provides a view into available data and research, concepts and educational approaches on the field.
Each chapter take conclusions mirroring the assessment of existing practices and conversations with youth workers on the topics. Each conclusion section also offers questions to identify and critically discuss blank spaces in youth work. The perspective here is to ask for the accountability of youth work in relation to the content of the chapters – pointing on aspects that are relevant for democracy.

This Analysis and conclusions are prepared within the DIYW-ROAD project: Digital Youth Work – rights-sensitive, open, accessible, democratic. The project is supported by teh Erasmus + program of the European Union.

Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

Partners of this project are:

Arbeitskreis deutscher Bildungsstätten e. V. (AdB) (Berlin/Germany),

Sozialprofil – Verein zur Förderung individueller, institutioneller und gesellschaftlicher Entwicklung (Graz/Austria),

Dinamo (Sintra/Portugal),

Fundación CIVES (Madrid/Spain),

Partners Bulgaria Foundation (Sofia/Bulgaria),

Democracy and Human Rights Education in Europe (DARE)

The Analysis can be seen here: https://dare-network.eu/digital-youth-work/

Co-funded by the European Union