Between the 5th and 8th of September, the partners of the project ASAP (ref KA220-SCH-BC59D668) met at Porto Lusófona University Centre for the project's second Co-Creation Workshop. Under the theme "Social Media as Democratic Spaces", the team engaged in a three-day immersive experience focused on the roles of digital media and social networks in building citizenship among young people, and on Portuguese educational experiences.
The first day was focused on setting the scene and on a deep reflection on social media as spaces to grow, learn, and build citizenship in digital spaces. Given the project's target audiences and the goal of developing an educational model and programme on the use of digital/social media in the school context that responds to the needs of school kids, teachers, and parents/families, on the second day the team contacted with local school representatives and national experts who shared their experiences and knowledge from the field. Andreia Martins presented the project Democracia do Bem Comum, programme run by Coolpolitics, a non-profit association with the mission of contributing to the civic and political empowerment of young people. The programme is funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and carried out with the support of the participating municipalities. Tito Morais and Cristiane Miranda shared the experience of the initiative Agarrados à Net. The project's mission is to help parents and educators better manage the time their children spend behind a screen, as well as to promote digital safety skills and digital wellbeing among the younger generation. Finally, Teresa Sofia Castro introduced the audience to the Alerta Premika's books, educational tools aimed at promoting online safety skills through reading and guided experiences.
The CCW ended with a workshop on Design-thinking, by Andreia Pinto de Sousa (YouNDigital project researcher), during which the team discovered the methodology and got involved in prototyping educational solutions and tools.
The next CCW will take place in April 2024 in the Czech Republic.
About the project
ASAP is an Erasmus+ funded project (KA220-SCH-BC59D668) involving partners from five countries: Italy, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Croatia, and Portugal. The project addresses digital transformation from the onset age by fostering a conscious use of digital and social media in kids (namely pre-adolescents). The project works on metacognitive skills aiming to develop the preadolescents’ understanding of how media shape and transform the relationship between the inner and the outside world. Maria José Brites (Partner coordinator), Ana Filipa Oliveira (Co-coordinator) & Teresa Sofia Castro are the researchers collaborating on the project.
Visit the project website here.