This term, introduced by the European Commission, includes the 21 key digital skills of citizens. As we can see from the data, there is a deep gap between Italian and European children. In Italy, only 1 in 4 young people has received training on these issues, while at European level a better and more constant educational work is being done with regard to education for digital citizenship and the development of digital skills. In any case, there is still a long way to go on these issues both in Italy and in the rest of Europe ».
Gender gap, fight against racism and poverty
Which issues are most important to you? For Italian children: gender gap (50%), fight against racism (47.2%), world poverty (39.3%), ecology and climate change (38.9%); dangers on the net (29.6%). For European children: online dangers (50.3%), ecology and climate change (42.1%), world poverty (37.6%), gender gap (35.4%), fight against racism (33 , 5%).
“Designing digital citizenship lessons that include increasingly important issues such as education in affectivity, sexuality, ecology and combating racial prejudices and stereotypes – says Gregorio Ceccone, educator and coordinator of the trainers of the Digital Ethical Movement – wants to say creating opportunities that can concretely bring an improvement in the world around us. From the data we have collected, the acquisition of greater awareness of the issue of digital citizenship appears to be fundamental. How to take this step? By systematically bringing this subject to school. Both in Italy and in Europe. These are skills and abilities that allow us to be more aware of the opportunities of the network ».
Participation in causes through the web
“Have you ever participated in an initiative, shared on Instagram or supported an online petition to support a social cause?”. 33.1% of Italian children and 63.7% of Europeans responded positively. “Certainly social media, in particular Instagram and TikTok with short videos and reels – is the comment of Dal Maso – have become the means by which young people are able to get more information by contributing, even with a simple sharing, to themselves become bearers of news. This viral sharing mechanism is strengthened the more the issues conveyed, as in the case of climate change or racial prejudices, affect them closely. Making young people more aware of the potential and risks of these powerful means becomes the only way to train digital citizens capable of building a better society “.
Towards a European day?
At the Rome event, the Digital Ethical Movement will ask, together with its European partners, for the establishment of the European Day on Digital Citizenship, in the presence of representatives of the institutions such as Francesco Tufarelli, Director General of the Department for European Policies of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and Senator Messina Undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council for technological innovation and digital transition. “Digital citizenship – explains Dal Maso, included in 2019 by Forbes among the five most influential Italian under 30s in the education sector and member of the Digital Skills and Job Coalition of the European Commission – is a cornerstone of the future of our society and we can define it as the union between civic education and digital education, therefore on the one hand the training of one’s rights and duties as citizens and on the other the awareness that the actions that are carried out on-line and off-line have an impact in present and in the future for oneself and for others “.