Digital Scouts: Enhancing the Digital Literacy and Participation in Europe
▶Summary
The Digital Scouts project aimed to improve digital inclusion for older adults by addressing three main objectives: 1. Improving the availability of high-quality learning opportunities in adult ed...
▶Objectives
The Digital Scouts project aimed to improve digital inclusion for older adults by addressing three main objectives: 1. Improving the availability of high-quality learning opportunities in adult education, combining blended learning and flexible self-learning options. 2. Adequately qualifying Digital Scouts to support older people in using digital tools, enabling them to benefit from the opportunities offered by digitalisation. 3. Promoting digital participation and expanding support offers for older adults, raising awareness among organisations, municipalities, and stakeholders about the importance of accessible digital learning. By pursuing these objectives, the project sought to strengthen the skills of those supporting older adults and to encourage wider, sustainable engagement in digital activities.
▶Activities
In five European countries, the project compiled national reports and developed a European compendium to raise awareness of digital inclusion for older adults based on desk research and interviews with practitioners, experts, and potential “digital scouts”. The Digital Training was developed and technically implemented, followed by an initial test of the online training in Austria, focusing on user-friendliness, technical functionality, and comprehensibility. Pilot blended-learning courses were conducted in Germany, Austria, Portugal, and Romania with 45 participants, after which the learning Platform and the Toolkit for Trainers were finalised. Training participants were surveyed 2–3 months after the course to assess their experiences. Dissemination and promotion activities, for example multiplier events, were carried out to share results and gather feedback from stakeholders.
▶Impact
The project provides a European Compendium that raises awareness among providers of support services about the diverse opportunities digitalisation offers older people, encouraging them to expand their support and educational offers. Individuals interested in helping older people participate digitally are trained through: 1. a freely available and accessible self-learning tool, the Digital Training; and 2. a Toolkit for Trainers, designed to help educational providers and organisations deliver blended-learning courses for Digital Scouts. The Digital Training is modular, adaptable, and already available in several languages, including Italian, increasing its potential to be used in other regions and communities. The results strengthen digital participation among older adults and provide a transferable model for future training initiatives across Europe. Sustainability is supported by institutional integration, continued recruitment of digital scouts, translation into further languages (Italian), and ongoing promotion through networks and stakeholders.