TE Summit 23-24.10.2013.-UNITE IT

Unite-IT Uniting Europe through digital empowerment

Overview of the UniteIT project and discussion towards common views:

objectives, deliverables, schedule, impact

With the support of the KA3 Multilateral Networks programme of the European Union

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Key Activity 3

• To complement ICT enhanced learning activities and projects under the sectoral programmes Comenius, Erasmus, Grundtvig and Leonardo da Vinci by addressing ICT teaching and learning needs across two or more of those sectors = TRANSVERSALITY.

• EU action aims to utilize the power of ICT to develop innovative education and training practices, improve access to lifelong learning and help develop advanced management systems.

• To support the development of innovative ICT based content, services, pedagogies and practice for lifelong learning.

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ICT actions in LLP

1. Multilateral projects to encourage innovation and creativity in learning and teaching and boost the use of new ICT tools and trends, particularly for groups at risk of exclusion such as early school leavers, ethnic minorities and elderly people (21 projects selected for funding in 2012)

2. Multilateral Networks to promote greater linking up and connectivity between learning communities and to foster creativity and innovation through the use of ICT (4 projects selected for funding in 2012)

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Network Priorities

Priority 1:• European-wide stakeholders' communities promoting digital competence and other key

transversal competences for life and employability

Priority 2:European-wide stakeholders' communities tackling the socio-economic digital divide• Analysing, reinforcing and disseminating findings on how digital competences can assist

groups at risk of exclusion• Sharing knowledge, exchanging good practices and developing new strategic partnerships

involving all relevant actors across all societal domains;• Developing foresight scenarios, recommendations and operational guidelines on what

education can do to tackle these digital divides and re-connect otherwise excluded individuals.

Godelieve Van Den Brandehttp://webcast.ec.europa.eu/eutv/portal/eac/_v_fl_300_fr/player/index_player.html?id=13086&pId=13023

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ICT Networks

ICT Networks are expected to:

• Support the building of partnerships and the networking of learning communities for exchanging ideas and experiences related to ICT for learning

• Networks should support knowledge sharing, increase the visibility and awareness of the benefits and impacts of ICT for learning

• Contribute to policy-making to the uptake and efficient use of ICT enabled learning

• Organize conferences, workshops, fora, summer universities, etc. designed to help attain the objectives of the network and disseminate results

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UniteIT Expected impact

UniteIT is a network project that – aims at sharing knowledge, – exchange practices, – set up debates in key topics and – develop new strategic partnership involving actors

across societal domains

in order to contribute to overcome digital divide and promote the acquisition of digital competence by groups-at-risk of exclusion.

Aims

The objective of the Unite-IT project is to create and establish a network in order

• To collect and share practices and findings on how digital competence can assist groups at risk of exclusion to reconnect with learning, as a mean to foster employability, social inclusion an social cohesion;

• To create new links and dialogue across societal domains to promote joint initiatives to tackle digital divides;

• To empower organisations and individuals about their contribution to overcome the challenge of digital divide in Europe

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Acting levels

• Practitioner level, by identifying successful practices of digital competence learning for inclusion and social cohesion, disseminate them, and make them available and transferrable across institutions, learning providers and teachers/trainers in Europe;

• Societal level, by strengthening links between education/training, business, users organisations, societal organisations and local/national authorities, to promote synergies, mutual understanding, common actions to tackle digital divide and promote the acquisition of digital competence;

• Policy level, by promoting networking and exchange of experiences and practices about ICT supporting inclusion and social cohesion, in order to make them available and transferrable across Europe.

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Objectives 1/2

1. Establishing the network, providing the operational and administrative ground on which the members can act by exchanging practices, sharing resources and visions on digital competence for inclusion, as well as to take advantage of successful practices already in place.

2. Developing an online portal to serve the network, containing information, news, materials, access to network databases of practices and policies in Europe with specific regard to ICT for inclusion and social cohesion;

3. Pooling resources both in terms of documents and practices, collected and coded by means of structured tools;

4. Establishing working groups in identified sub-areas related to digital competence for inclusion, i.e. employability, access to education for groups-at-risk, access to ICTs, gender equality in digital competence etc.: these working groups will be enriched by the participation of relevant stakeholders coming from business, society, policy fields during the running of the network;

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Objectives 2/2

5. Raising awareness about the value of digital competence for inclusion and social cohesion purposes, dealing with policy makers and stakeholders at all levels, national and regional authorities, others concerned with the field;

6. Promoting links and positive synergies at a horizontal level (between policy makers, between practitioners in Europe, between stakeholders), and at vertical level (between policy and practice)

7. Providing updated state-of-the-art reports on yearly basis;8. Organising a yearly conference Digital Empowerment All-

Inclusive, bringing together policy makers, stakeholders, and education and training organisations.

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WP StructureUniteIT

WP1, WP2

WP1 Network design is aimed at setting the ground on which the network is to be built.

– Deliverable: 01 Procedure Handbook M7 – Leader: LIKTA

WP2 Network building is the operational outcome of WP1, developed on the basis of the designed framework.

– Deliverables: 02 Online portal M9, 09 Network toolkit M9, 04 Working groups description M12

– Leader: IAN

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WP3

WP3 Pooling of resources– collecting practices on successful cases and strategies that

lead to an improvement of social inclusion for those suffering from digital divide;

– pooling present policies, initiatives, trends, policy agendas addressing digital divide in Europe, and related documents, from local to European level, covering the 27 members states, EEA countries, accession countries.

Deliverables: Collection of practices M12, Policy observatory M12 Leader: Interface3

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WP4

WP4 Network running.• Having established the formal and operational background, prepared the

tools and resources, established the first core working groups, the network will be officially launched by means of the first conference.

• The networking action will include – continuous updating of the website and of the databases, – keeping contacts with policy and decision makers and with other organisations

concerned by the topic to involve them within the activities,– organisation of webinars, – writing of yearly reports and sending them to the targeted audience, and – coordination of transnational working groups debates on specific topics.

• Deliverables: – 07 Yearly report Digitally Empowered Europe M12/24/36– 08 Webinars M18/24/30/35– 09 Yearly conference: Digital Empowerment All-Inclusive M12/24/36

• Leader: EOS

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WP5, WP6

WP5 Dissemination. Aims at ensuring that the project outputs and outcomes reach the target groups, promoting involvement of new members in the network, positive synergies across policy makers, practictioners in the field and all concerned stakeholders across Europe, and raising awareness about the addressed topic.

• Deliverables: – 10 Dissemination plan M3 – 11 Dissemination material M6 – 12 Dissemination report M36

• Leader: DemNet

WP6 Exploitation. Aimed at promoting mainstreaming of the results, therefore access and active contribution to by organisations and individuals outside the consortium, enlargement of the network.

• Deliverables: – 13 Exploitation plan M13-36– 14 Sustainability plan M36

• Leader: Telecentre-Europe

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WP7, WP8

WP7 Evaluation and quality assurance is aimed at ensuring formative and summative monitoring and evaluation as a support for project management and to quality control.– Mechanisms for the monitoring and evaluation of the network will be here

established, and to collect data from the audiences, together with the development of the tools for this purpose.

– Deliverables: 15 Evaluation and quality plan M4, 16 Evaluation and quality report M36– Leader: Malta

WP8 Project management. This WP groups the management activities, aimed at ensuring legal, ethical, financial and administrative management, and the achievement of the objectives in time and in the budget. – Deliverables: 17 Agreements M3, 18 Project Handbook M3, 19 Project reports M19/37– Leader: Telecentre-Europe

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Areas of impact

Changes in attitudes: • by means of the sharing of resources and by means of debates on key topics,

mutual understanding among societal organisations, business, education and training organisation will be enhanced, and the attitude toward the issue is expected to change

• from local to European, from being one player to being one of the players concurring to overcome barriers in acquisition of digital competences, etc.

Changes in knowledge: • by means of the work of collection, discussion and analysis, the network will

enhance knowledge on how digital divide can be overcome and therefore how digital competence can be promoted in disadvantaged groups

• it will also enhance mutual understanding and knowledge among the different players, coming from education, training, academia, business, and societal organisation, as well as among them and policy makers and among policy makers across countries

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Areas of impact

Changes in awareness: • enhanced awareness of all the involved stakeholders, included policy and

decision makers, about the value of working together• establishing channels of effective communication• bringing sectors and areas of intervention within a broader picture where

joint actions can make the difference in improving digital competences for those at-risk and therefore contribute to overcome digital divide in Europe

Changes in skills: • transfer of practices is expected to enhance competences of organizations

in tackling digital divide for those at risk of exclusion, • debating within the working groups is expected to improve mutual

understanding among different organisations and sections, thus promoting new forms of cooperation

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Project factsheet

• Project duration: 36 months• Start/end date: 01.11.2012-31.10.2015• Total eligible budget: 547 582 EUR• EU grant: 407 736 EUR (74,46% )• Own contribution: 139 846 EUR (25,54%)• Payment structure: 40%-40%-20%

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Project partners

P# Partner Country

1 Telecentre-Europe AISBL Belgium

2 Malta Communications Authority Malta

3 IAN International Aid Network Serbia

4 Foundation for Development of Democratic Rights /DemNet/ Hungary

5 Latvian Information and Communication Techology Association /LIKTA/ Latvia

6 INTERFACE3 Belgium

7 EOS Foundation – Educating for an Open Society Romania

8 The National Union of Students in Europe Belgium

9 Telecentar Croatia

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Associated partners

AP# Name of organization Type of institution City Country

1Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit of the Government of the Republic of Serbia

Project-based Unit endorsed by the Government

Belgrade  Serbia

2  University of Malta University or higher education institutions (tertiary level)

 Msida Malta

3 Technofutur TIC (http://www.technofuturtic.be)

Training center – IT Competence Center

 Charleroi Belgium

4 Zemgale Region Human Resource and Competences development centrehttp://www.jrpic.lv/en/?ID=1741

Training center – IT Competence Center

 Jelgava Latvia

5Ventspils Digital Centre www.digitalaiscentrs.lv

IT Training center  Ventspils Latvia 

6

 Jekabpils Lifelong learning and Information Technologies centrehttp://www.titc.lv/index.php?l=LV&goodsop=list&catid=135

IT Training center  Jekabpils Latvia

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