eparticipation handbook

Good Practice Exchange on eParticipation Platforms among European Youth

BB&R EDITIONS

eparticipation handbook

Good Practice Exchange on eParticipation Platforms among European Youth

This project has been funded with support from the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Authors: Olga Ambrosiewicz, Pablo Biderbost, Marija Biljan, Guillermo Boscán, Alonso Escamilla, Marco Farina, Andrew Hadley, Trevor Keough, Nalia Rochin, Margherita Vaglio.Proofreading: Zachary Ellis.Design: Alonso Escamilla.Visuals: Alonso Escamilla.Published: 2017 © BB&R Editions

Good Practice Exchange on eParticipation Platforms among European Youth. Project 2016-2-ES02-KA205-008260 implemented by Biderbost, Boscan & Rochin (BB&R) in collaboration with Human Right Youth Organisation (HRYO) and Momentum World. !http://e-participation.eu !Biderbost, Boscan & Rochin John Dalton, 38-52, Bajo J 37007 Salamanca, Spain bbyr@bbyr.com www.bbyr.com

CONTENTS

PREFACE PARTNERS Biderbost, Boscan & Rochin Human Rights Youth Organisation Momentum World !FUNDED BY Erasmus+

A

B

TEMPLATE Dimensions & Questions Template !ePLATFORMS DemocracyOS Airesis OPIN Consider.it Loomio CommunityPlanIt OurSpace Change.org Rousseau Civic Flow !YOUNGSTERS DemocracyOS Proposals !CONCLUSIONS 3

4 7 8 9 9 !

11 12

13 14 19 !23 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 !45 46 49 !54

Good Practice Exchange on eParticipation Platforms among European Youth (2016-2-ES02-KA205-008260) was designed to explore a range of electronic platforms that can be used to empower the European youth. Entities from Italy (HRYO), Spain (BB&R) and United Kingdom (Momentum World) exchanged data, information and best practices of these online platforms, with the objective of understanding what features the ideal platform must have in order to best empower European youth civically. ! In accordance with innovative learning styles and the creation of an evaluation template, the entities assessed 10 ePlatforms: DemocracyOS, Airesis, OPIN, Consider.it, Loomio, CommunityPlanIt, OurSpace, Change.org, Rousseau, and Civic Flow. In this regard, the template assessed the following points: signing up, security, social media, know how to use it, design, networking, using the platform. The maximum score that each platform could reach was 115. ! The process was carried out by experts from each of the partners, in order to explore and identify the strengths and weaknesses of the platforms. In addition, there was an assessment made by youngsters at secondary level from the three countries. The young participants involved in the process not only evaluated DemocracyOS, but also they used it to propose measures to tackle youth unemployment in there countries.

PREFACE

There is no doubt that the combination of experts and young people has enriched the project and its results. At the same time, we have been able to sew the seed of civic and political participation in the young participants. ! It is important to thank the Erasmus+ Programme, the Youth Institute of Spain and the Youth Institute of Castilla y León, who without them this project would not have seen the light. As well as the numerous partners with whom the project has contained in the three countries, especially the San Estanislao Kostka School (Salamanca), IPSSEO "P. PIAZZA" (Palermo), and British Council (UK). ! With all this, we hope to contribute to the development of future electronic platforms for civic empowerment in Europe and, why not, in the world. !Yours sincerely,

partners

PARTNERS

BIDERBOST, BOSCAN & ROCHIN !Biderbost , Boscan & Rochin (BB&R) is a professional, international consulting firm located in Salamanca (Spain). BB&R specializes in many distinguished fields of expertise including social responsibility in the field of youth. BB&R’s team consists of ten young and qualified professionals from all over the world, with various backgrounds and proficiencies in different subject matters. BB&R h a s c o l l a b o rat e d w i t h d i f f e re n t n o t a b l e o rg a n i z a t i o n s ( E u ro p ea n U n i o n , E U - L AC Foundation, InterAmerican Development Bank, United Nation Development Programme, World Bank, International Organization for Migration), NGOs and government agencies (Spain, Brazil, Norway, Canada, Bulgaria, UK) in an effort to train European youth to be more qualified in today’s work force, and to live a more active civic life. !http://bbyr.com/en/

8

HUMAN RIGHTS YOUTH ORGANIZATION !Human Rights Youth Organization (HYRO) is a non-profit NGO founded in Palermo, Italy in 2009. HYRO aims to facilitate and improve the quality of human rights throughout the world by creating a network of organizations with similar human rights oriented goals. HYRO actively works towards promoting peace by regularly taking part in, and promoting non-violent actions towards liberation of any form of oppression. !http://www.hryo.org

MOMENTUM WORLD !Momentum World is a U.K. based, non-profit education and training provider directed towards assisting youth in more than 30 countries world-wide. Their overall goal is to empower youth, and to enhance their employability in the workforce. Momentum World lists their main aims as “to inspire young people and to increase their employability, to increase the youth’s understanding of global issues, add value to education, and to promote intercultural understanding and inclusion. Their work has been supported by the Cass Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, the RSA, Civil Society Media and the EU Youth in Action / Erasmus+Programme. !http://www.momentumworld.org

9

FUNDED BY

ERASMUS+ PROGRAMME !Erasmus+ is an EU funded program that aims to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe. With a budget of €14.7 billion, the program will provide opportunities for over 4 million Europeans to study, train, and gain experience abroad. Erasmus+ also aims to promote sustainable development of its partners in the field of higher education, and to contribute to achieving the objectives of the EU Youth Strategy. Specific issues tackled by the program include reducing unemployment, promoting adult learning, encouraging young people to take part in politics, supporting innovation, and promoting cooperation and mobility with the EU’s partner countries. !!https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus_en

ERASMUS+

12

TEMPLATE

dimensions

This dimension addresses how is the registration process in the platform.signing up

This dimension addresses the security that the platform has both as a user and external agents

SECURITY

This dimension addresses whether the activity can be published in social networks and in which.

SOCIAL MEDIA

In this dimension it is addressed if the platform has tutorials or other options to teach you how to use the platform.

KNOW HOW TO USE IT

14

dimensions

15

This dimension addresses the design of the platform in its interface and in its use.DESIGN

This dimension addresses whether the platform allows you to create networks with other users or outside the platform.

NETWORKING

This dimension addresses the use of the platform in each of its actions and if they generate engagement in users.

USING THE PLATFORM

QUESTIONS

Do you have to pay? Can you use your email address to sign-up? Can you use your social media to sign-up? How is the general process to sign-up?

signing up

What level of security does the platform have? Does the platform inform you of the security issues of the platform? Does the platform allow to control “not good users”?

SECURITY

Can you post on social media your interactions in the platform? What social medias can you use with this platform?

SOCIAL MEDIA

16

QUESTIONS

17

Does the platform have any step-by-step guide on how to use it? What kind of step-by-step guide does the platform have? (i.e. handbook, video tutorial, etc…)

KNOW HOW TO USE IT

What level of “user friendliness” does the interface of the platform have? What degree of “text-based interface” does the platform have? What degree of “intuitive interface” does the platform have?

DESIGN

Does the platform allow to interact with other users of the platform? Does the platform allow to interact with users outside of the platform?

NETWORKING

QUESTIONS

Does the platform allow to propose topics to discuss? Does the platform allow to vote ideas, proposals and/or policies? D o e s t h e p l a t f o r m r e q u i r e a n administrator or manager to function? Is the interaction in the platform through simulations or role-playings? Is the interaction in the platform through games? Does the platform have the possibility to invite decision-makers or authorities to participate in the platform? What level of engagement does the platform have when you are using it?

USING THE PLATFORM

18

!!!!TEMPLATE e-PARTICIPATION PLATFORMS !

!

NAME OF THE PLATFORM

ENTITY PROMOTING THE PLATFORM

WEB ADDRESS

PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVE OF THE PLATFORM

PARTNER EVALUATING THE PLATFORM

FEATURES LEVEL SCORE

SIGNING UP

Do you have to pay? *** YES NO

Can you use your email address to sign-up? YES NO

Can you use your social media to sign-up? YES NO

How is the general process to sign-up? *** Easy A little bit

difficult Difficult

SECURITY

What level of security does the platform have? Low Medium High

Does the platform inform you of the security issues of the platform? YES NO

Does the platform allow to control “not good users”? YES NO

SOCIAL MEDIA

Can you post on social media your interactions in the platform? YES NO

What social medias can you use with this platform?

KNOW HOW TO USE IT

TEMPLATE

!!

Does the platform have any step-by-step guide on how to use it? YES NO

What kind of step-by-step guide does the platform have? (i.e. handbook, video tutorial, etc…)

DESIGN

What level of “user friendliness” does the interface of the platform have? Low Medium High

W h a t d e g r e e o f “ t e x t - b a s e d interface” does the platform have? *** Low Medium High

What degree of “intuitive interface” does the platform have? Low Medium High

NETWORKING

Does the platform allow to interact with other users of the platform? YES NO

Does the platform allow to interact with users outside of the platform? YES NO

USING THE PLATFORM

Does the platform allow to propose topics to discuss? YES NO

Does the platform allow to vote ideas, proposals and/or policies? YES NO

Does the platform require an administrator or manager to function? ***

YES NO

Is the interaction in the platform through simulations or role-playings? YES NO

Is the interaction in the platform through games? YES NO

Does the platform have the possibility to invite decision-makers or authorities to participate in the platform?

YES NO

What level of engagement does the platform have when you are using it? Low Medium High

TOTAL SCORE (THE MAXIMUM SCORE THAT A PLATFORM CAN REACH IS 115)

TEMPLATE

PUNCTUATION e-PARTICIPATION PLATFORMS !

!!FINAL COMMENTS e-PARTICIPATION PLATFORMS !

!CONCEPTS e-PARTICIPATION PLATFORMS !

ANSWER PUNCTUATION COMMENTS

NO 0 This value is reversed only for items that have 3 asterisks (***). This means that its value will be 5.

YES 5 This value is reversed only for items that have 3 asterisks (***). This means that its value will be 0.

LOW / EASY 0 This value is reversed only for items that have 3 asterisks (***). This means that its value will be 5.

MEDIUM / A LITTLE BIT 2,5

HIGH / DIFFICULT 5 This value is reversed only for items that have 3 asterisks (***). This means that its value will be 0.

0 SOCIAL MEDIA 0

1 or 2 SOCIAL MEDIA 2,5

3 or MORE SOCIAL MEDIA

5

In this box you can comment anything that you want to highlight regarding the platform (i.e something that we did not ask in the template, add more information regarding the issues of the template, etc…)

User friendliness This concept refers to the visual design of the interface. How attractive is the design for the youngsters.

Intuitive interface This concept refers to the interaction of the user with the platform. How easy is to use the platform for the youngsters.

TEMPLATE

ePLATFORMS

RESUME !DemocracyOS is an online platform that allows individuals to create their “own democracy” on the internet. The platform seeks to be the “Magna Carta” for the web, in the sense that it allows anybody to propose their own public debates about any topic, and then invites other users share their opinions towards that subject matter without corporate or government influence, giving users complete “web freedom”. The program pursues to create better arguments and rulings amongst users. !Promoter: Democracia en Red Web: http://democracyos.org

EVALUATION !

DemocracyOS is a free, and user-friendly platform that is well regulated and allows for a full functioning online democracy. Interaction with other members using the platform is constant and simple. It is very easy to navigate, sign up for, and to voice necessary opinions and then debate them. DemocracyOS is also being used globally throughout the entire world. Although, this platform is lacking in the social media aspect, making it difficult to not only get the platform itself recognized to outsiders, but people’s opinions as well. This platform is very suitable for youngsters, and aims to keep young citizens in touch with politics.

!Ranked: 62,5/115

24

KNOW HOW TO USE IT

Ranked62.5/115

SIGNING UP

SECURITY

SOCIAL MEDIA

KNOW HOW TO USE IT

DESIGN

NETWORKING

USING THE PLATFORM

SOCIAL MEDIA

SIGNING UP

SECURITYNETWORKING

USING THE PLATFORM

DESIGN

RESUME !Airesis is an online platform designed for businesses or small democratic groups that allows for group leaders to organize, propose, and collaborate on ideas with group members. This platform allows for creators to set regulations, policies, and permissions amongst its group members in order to replicate a fully functioning democracy. Airesis serves as a decision-making tool for e-democracy, strongly oriented to problem-solving and designed to maximize the immense evolutionary power of  “collective intelligence”. This platform is based around five core values of participation, transparency and security, constructive dialogue, equal opportunities, and flexibility. !Promoter: Tecnologie Democratiche Web: https://www.airesis.eu/

EVALUATION !

Airesis is noted for its high level of user interaction and participation through use of dialogue platforms, polls, and opinion boards. It is free, very user friendly, easy to sign up for, and has a very high social media base. With this platform, you are also able to choose your own country and write in your own language. The biggest concerns with this website is its lack of security and ability to keep “bad users” out. Also, another concern with this platform was the fact that it was still primarily in Italian (and English), so this may be a little difficult for foreign users. Airesis quotes “If you are an association, a company, or a school party (youth), then Airesis is right for you”. Therefore, this platform is suitable for young people

!Ranked: 75/115

26

KNOW HOW TO USE IT

Ranked75/115

SIGNING UP

SECURITY

SOCIAL MEDIA

KNOW HOW TO USE IT

DESIGN

NETWORKING

USING THE PLATFORM

SOCIAL MEDIA

SIGNING UP

NETWORKING

USING THE PLATFORM

DESIGN

RESUME !OPIN is an ePlatform that specifically targets the youth in Europe. The ideology behind OPIN is attempting to increase youth participation in politics within their respective communities by targeting them in the ways they are most familiar, which is through technology. OPIN in an online or mobile toolbox that offers youth support and decisions for Implementing change in their societies. Users can create platforms and suggestions to followers on the app in order to cast votes or opinions on public projects or decisions. The OPIN toolbox is developed to support quality participation by user friendly design and concentrated practical tips and a decision support tool help to plan and find the right tools for your purpose. Tools such as text review, brainstorming, idea changes, agenda setting, spatial tool, and pooling. !Promoter: EUth Project Web: https://opin.me/en/

EVALUATION !

OPIN is also noted for having intuitive levels of communication throughout its users within the platform. It is very user friendly, and offers a step by step guide of how to navigate the website for first time users. It has a good level of security and control over “bad users”. OPIN also has a good social media base, and allows you to post your debates and polls over various forms of social media. OPIN is also noted for its great ability to achieve Brainstorming, Idea Challenge, Text Review, Spatial Tool, Poll, and Agenda Setting. The platform is also available in 9 languages, so there are few barriers. OPIN is a platform completely developed, centered around the idea of getting young people more involved in politics through smartphones and other devices familiar to today’s youth, therefore it is very suitable, and recommended for young people.

!Ranked: 85/115

28

KNOW HOW TO USE IT

Ranked85/115

SIGNING UP

SECURITY

SOCIAL MEDIA

KNOW HOW TO USE IT

DESIGN

NETWORKING

USING THE PLATFORM

SOCIAL MEDIA

SIGNING UP

NETWORKING

SECURITY

USING THE PLATFORM

DESIGN

RESUME !Consider.it is an online conversational platform that assists communities in learning from one another and sharing ideas by keeping all conversations regarding a topic focused and beneficial. Users suggest topics of conversation such as budget reforms or political controversies, and users that the questions pertain to are able to rank the topic on a scale of importance to the community, then comment on it. Consider.it gets your community on the same page. Areas of disagreement and agreement are clear, as well as the underlying rationale, so you can take more effective action. !Promoter: University of Washington (State of Washington) Web: https://consider.it/

EVALUATION !

The consider.it platform is noted for its attractiveness and user-friendliness accompanied by a step by step video tutorial which makes it very easy to appeal to audiences. At no cost, it is a good platform for networking throughout communities and data sharing. Consider.it is also condemned for its ability to promote positive conversation, and keep communities in the same page at all times .Although, it has a notable lack of social media presence. Consider.it is a very interactive platform that is aimed towards small businesses and communities, which include youth. Therefore, it is a suitable platform for today’s youngsters to use.

!Ranked: 70/115

30

KNOW HOW TO USE IT

Ranked70/115

SIGNING UP

SECURITY

SOCIAL MEDIA

KNOW HOW TO USE IT

DESIGN

NETWORKING

USING THE PLATFORM

SIGNING UP

USING THE PLATFORM

SECURITY

NETWORKING

DESIGN

RESUME !Loomio is an online, user-friendly tool for making decisions. Loomio is attempting to stop the need to have numerous time consuming in person meetings, by creating an easy decision making platform. It works by creating a topic of discussion, inviting the necessary people to participate on that discussion, proposing new ideas and solutions about the topic, and then collectively coming up with an outcome that benefits the majority. Loomio is a great platform that can assist boards and committees, cooperative groups, and government communities. !Promoter: Enspiral Network Web: https://opin.me/en/

EVALUATION !

Loomio is another platform that is ranked very highly in its easy networking abilities throughout the platform. It is very user friendly and easy to sign up for with video tutorials, and it has a good security base that keeps out “bad users”. It allows for open discussion and debates amongst members, and has a large social media presence. Other aspects to highlight about this platform is the fact that it is available in over 30 languages, and allows for good collections of feedback. A negative aspect about this platform is the fact that only the basic version is free, and if you want to use a more advanced version of it to suit your needs it requires payment. Therefore, it may only be suitable for small organizations or committees. Loomio states that it can be very effective in school/classroom situations in order to increase efficiency of meetings, even if certain people are not present, making it a very useful tool for youth to get involved in political decisions.

!Ranked: 77,5/115

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KNOW HOW TO USE IT

Ranked77,5/115

SIGNING UP

SECURITY

SOCIAL MEDIA

KNOW HOW TO USE IT

DESIGN

NETWORKING

USING THE PLATFORM

SOCIAL MEDIA

SIGNING UP

NETWORKING

SECURITY

USING THE PLATFORM

DESIGN

RESUME !Community Planit is an online platform that seeks to increase participation and involvement in communities by making active participation fun through a series of games and rewards. Players compete with one another in order to earn influence in their community to fund local projects. Not only does it increase participation, but it also increases public knowledge because it forces users to learn about key issues and then suggest solutions to those problems. Each game then culminates in a face-to-face community event, where players meet with each other and discuss the results of the process and next steps with curators of the game and other decision makers, therefore strengthening the community as a whole. !Promoter: Engagement Lab at Emerson College Web: https://elab.emerson.edu/projects/community-planit

EVALUATION !

Community Planit is a very fun and interactive platform that not only allows you to network within the platform but outside the platform as well. It is free, and very user friendly with video tour guides on how to sign up and use the platform to its highest potential. The platform is noted with its exceptional ability to propose ideas and policies through highly interactive games. However, there are some concerns with its level of security and its ability to keep “bad users” out. Also, there is a high lack of social media presence. Due to the fact that this platform is uses an interactive game based system in order to get people involved, it is considered to be very attractive towards young people in today’s world.

!Ranked: 75/115

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KNOW HOW TO USE IT

Ranked75/115

SIGNING UP

SECURITY

SOCIAL MEDIA

KNOW HOW TO USE IT

DESIGN

NETWORKING

USING THE PLATFORM

NETWORKING

SIGNING UP

SECURITY

USING THE PLATFORM

DESIGN

RESUME !OurSpace is a specially developed platform designed to bridge the debate gap between citizens and those who have the power to make important decisions. OurSpace was developed to assist individuals, such as the European youth, to be able to hear, and input opinions on political issues being dealt with in their respective communities. This platform includes a variety of translation tools so every person is able to understand, and then voice their opinion in EU debates publically. !Promoters: Athens Technology Center SA (Greece), National Technical University of Athens (Greece), Google Ireland Limited (UK), Danube University Krems (Austria), 21c Consultancy Limited (UK), Fondation Euractiv (Belgium), Babel International (France), DUHA (Czech Republic) and British Youth Council (UK). Web: http://www.joinourspace.eu

EVALUATION !

OurSpace is a free and excellent tool for online discussion and debates that cover topics all over the world. It has good security measures, monitors “bad users”, has a good social media presence, is user friendly, and has a good social media presence. However, there is some doubt with the fact that the platform may be a little difficult to use for some because it is only available in 4 languages. Also, the step by step guide could be improved in order to let users utilise the platform at its highest potential. OurSpace tries to “bridge the gap between citizens and those who are able to make important decisions”. These citizens are often the youth of communities, and therefore OurSpace tries to aim its platform towards the youth of communities making it very suitable for youth.

!Ranked: 75/115

36

KNOW HOW TO USE IT

Ranked75/115

SIGNING UP

SECURITY

SOCIAL MEDIA

KNOW HOW TO USE IT

DESIGN

NETWORKING

USING THE PLATFORM

SOCIAL MEDIA

SIGNING UP

NETWORKING

SECURITY

USING THE PLATFORM

DESIGN

RESUME !Change.org is an online platform that allows anybody from anywhere in the world to start an online petition based on any controversial topic without any governmental intervention. Users submit a petition in a given subject area in the hopes that followers will read the petition and sign off on it. In some cases, over 2 million people have signed petitions, including powerful government officials, and legal action has taken place. Change.org allows for people to speak their mind and gain a voice in difficult subject areas. Their mission statement aims to “empower people everywhere to create the change they want to see. !Promoter: Change.org Web: https://www.change.org

EVALUATION !

This platform is free, extremely user friendly, has good security measures, very interactive, allows for communication inside and outside the platform, has a user base of over 100 million, has a large social media presence, and is used all over the world. It is a great way to get opinions and petitions voiced because of its large world presence. However, there are some concerns because the platform is only a resource and doesn’t support the user. Also, the work depends of the request promoter’s actions. The positive result depends more of the advertising in mass media and social networks than in the platform. It has some content which is only accessible to payment users. Change.org is by far the most globally supported platform encountered, with millions of users with varieties of ages, therefore, it is very suitable for youngsters.

!Ranked: 87,5/115

38

KNOW HOW TO USE IT

Ranked87,5/115

SIGNING UP

SECURITY

SOCIAL MEDIA

KNOW HOW TO USE IT

DESIGN

NETWORKING

USING THE PLATFORM

SOCIAL MEDIA

SIGNING UP

NETWORKING

SECURITY

USING THE PLATFORM

DESIGN

RESUME !Rousseau is an online platform aimed specifically towards the passing of new laws and legislation. The platform states its objectives as to manage the various elective components of Italian and other European Parliaments, as well as the participation of members of the Movimento 5 Stelle (Italian political party). On Rousseau, users can propose legislation, vote, propose and vote on candidates, or define political positions of the Movimento 5 Stelle. Rousseau emulates a democracy, without the intervention of outside political bodies. Anyone can access the platform but only members of the Movimento 5 Stelle can participate. !Promoter: Movimento 5 Stelle Web: https://rousseau.movimento5stelle.it

EVALUATION !

Rousseau is a free platform that allows for good networking amongst other users of the program. However, there are many doubts within this program. It was found to be very difficult to sign up for, as it lacked any written or video tutorial of how to navigate the website and sign up. It was also only available in Italian, making it very difficult for non-Italian speaking users to use. In addition to this, it lacked a social media presence, and it was seen as a poor platform to facilitate voting and idea proposals. Due to the fact that only 5 star members are able to participate, this is not a very suitable platform for youth.

!Ranked: 37,5/115

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Ranked37,5/115

SIGNING UP

SECURITY

SOCIAL MEDIA

KNOW HOW TO USE IT

DESIGN

NETWORKING

USING THE PLATFORM

USING THE PLATFORM

NETWORKING

SIGNING UP

DESIGN

RESUME !Civic flow is an online platform centered on the ideology of keeping people “in the loop”. The platform attempts to keep people civically informed through the creation of civic campaigns with knowledge gathered from the latest technology. Civic flow is advanced in its ability to gather information about the surrounding environment using sensing capacities of smartphones, carried by citizens, let people express their subjective perception of environmental conditions, collect public opinions and sentiments through questionnaires. !Promoter: U-Hopper Srl Web: http://www.civicflow.com

EVALUATION !

Although it has a lot of potential through the use of creating questionnaires for everybody to read on all forms of social media through the latest smartphone technology, this platform needs a lot of improvement. There was no guidance on how the platform worked, and once a user entered the platform, it was impossible to see or interact with other users. It was also impossible to search for discussion topics. Due the uncertainty of this platform, it may come off as unapproachable for youth, therefore, it is not very suitable for today’s youth.

!Ranked: 32,5/115

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Ranked32,5/115

SIGNING UP

SECURITY

SOCIAL MEDIA

KNOW HOW TO USE IT

DESIGN

NETWORKING

USING THE PLATFORM

SOCIAL MEDIA

SIGNING UP

USING THE PLATFORM

YOUNGSTERS

!!Each entity celebrated a session with youngsters at secondary level from London, Palermo and Salamanca. In this meeting, the young participants explored DemocracyOS and all its features. !In this regard, the youngsters analysed the following characteristics:

1. Creating an account (SignUp). 2. Creating a Democracy. 3. Discussing an own Democracy and in the Democracies of others. 4. Communicating through the platform, generating a Poll and Voting. 5. Publishing their participation in Facebook or Twitter. 6. Exploring Settings, Notifications, and Privileges. !After this exploration, the youngsters become protagonists and proposed different measures or policies to tackle youth unemployment in their localities. They discussed the proposals and vote for those for which they felt more affinity. !Finally, the youngsters evaluated DemocracyOS trough the same template that the experts from each entity. In this regard, the youngsters had the possibility to express if the kind of platforms are attractive and useful for them.

RESUME

46

KNOW HOW TO USE IT

Ranked72,5/115

SIGNING UP

SECURITY

SOCIAL MEDIA

KNOW HOW TO USE IT

DESIGN

NETWORKING

USING THE PLATFORM

SOCIAL MEDIA

USING THE PLATFORM

SIGNING UP

NETWORKING

DESIGN

SECURITY

British Youngsters

KNOW HOW TO USE IT

Ranked85/115

SIGNING UP

SECURITY

SOCIAL MEDIA

KNOW HOW TO USE IT

DESIGN

NETWORKING

USING THE PLATFORM

SOCIAL MEDIA

USING THE PLATFORM

SIGNING UP

NETWORKING

DESIGN

SECURITY

ITALIAN Youngsters

KNOW HOW TO USE IT

Ranked75,7/115

SIGNING UP

SECURITY

SOCIAL MEDIA

KNOW HOW TO USE IT

DESIGN

NETWORKING

USING THE PLATFORM

SOCIAL MEDIA

USING THE PLATFORM

SIGNING UP

NETWORKING

DESIGN

SECURITY

SPANISH Youngsters

PROPOSALS

BRITISH Proposals

The aspects of Erasmus+ programme that have worked best is EVS. This projects helped young people grow in all aspects (specially in their self-confidence). After the EVS, the sending organisation can offer the young people the opportunity to volunteer with them or other local organisations to make them more employable by acquiring work experience.

Erasmus+ Programme, the Past and the Future

Post Brexit Britain outside of E+ and the Alternatives

Young people shaping the future

relationship between Britain and EU

An alternative to Erasmus+ could be regional or local funding opportunities like Creative Scotland. Every town might have to apply separately for the funding. Another option might be crowdfunders. Instead of EVS there might be a focus on other voluntary services and maybe an increase in national voluntary services.

The youngsters that already took part in Erasmus+ projects, can contact their sending organisation in the UK to work on campaigns which can reach the B r i t i s h C o u n c i l , t h e E u r o p e a n C o m m i s s i o n a n d t h e E u r o p e a n Parliament. At the same time, young people can get together in networks like EuroPeers to brainstorm ideas and to make their voices heard on how to shape the future relationship between Britain and EU.51

Italian Proposals

In every school, insert an employment office in which the students are able to apply to internships when they are finished with their studies amongst firms that offer scholarship (containing travel costs).

School employment center

Work space for young people

EU inside schools

The goal is to match a retired worker with a young worker in order to facilitate and ease the transition of the young worker into the world of work. For this, the new workers would need a scholarship offered and promoted by the national working agency, together with the local municipalities and local companies.

Develop an Erasmus+ desk inside schools to give the possibility to young people from 16 to 20 years old to find international internships in Europe r e g a r d i n g j o b o p p o r t u n i t i e s (Entrepreneurships, Tour ism and languages). Funding would come from the European Commission and the project should be a permanent opportunity inside schools.

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SPANISH Proposals

Depending on what you want to study in the future, more time should be invested into these subjects. We also suggest that there be more language immersions and opportunities like Erasmus Plus in other countries to practice English. These proposals would be dedicated to people of our age and level of study. The funds would be attributed by the government and other institutions. The purpose we wanted to achieve is to increase the interest of students studying, and for them to have the opportunity to study what they like.

spent more time on the subjects

that an individual wants to study

Education Equality

We propose that the educational level be the same in all the autonomous communities of Spain, to ensure that all y o u n g p e o p l e h a v e t h e s a m e opportunities to achieve a better future. More specifically, we are talking about the case of the entrance exam to the university, because this tends to harm the access of some students to fulfill the career they wish to peruse.

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CONCLUSIONS

After this project, the most important conclusion is that the three partners feel that there is definitely room to use electronic platforms to empower young generations not only on civic education, but also on active participation and European citizenship. This kind of platforms arise as useful mechanisms or tools for diverse organisations willing to manage participation of young people on a range of different topics and to engage them on important decisions that take place in their daily lives. That is why we think that electronic platforms could be a successful and impactful tool. ! Obviously, not everything is gold in relation to electronic platforms. One of the biggest difficulties that we find is that the organisations need to invest a lot of time to moderate and stimulate the debate (top-down approach) so the youngsters engage into the discussion until they are the ones who take control and lead the discussion (bottom-up approach). Another difficulty that we faced is to convince young people that the electronic platforms are different tools to other social media platforms that they use in their day to day. At the same time, most of the platforms have designs with text-based interfaces what causes that the young people do not feel attracted to participate in a first instance.

CONCLUSIONS

Once the youngsters propose, debate and vote through electronic platforms, they feel incredibly attracted to the process of on-line participation. Furthermore, the youngsters who participated in this project expressed that e-platforms turn out to be innovative tools for them in order to participate and access to information. In this regard, the youngsters liked the idea of voting online, especially to decide issues that concern them in their daily lives or even in referendums, local, general and European elections. ! Undoubtedly, there is a lot of room for improvement in the design, use and engagement of the electronic platforms to empower young generations on civic education. The promoters of the platforms need to work more in design that match the highest levels of “user friendliness” and “intuitive interfaces” to attract and engage young people since the beginning. This means, that the youngsters take the initiative to sign-in in this platform and not to wait that an adult come to them to be part of the platform. ! In this regard, the ideal electronic platform must have an easy sign-up process where the youngsters can only use their email address or their favorite social network. Then, the security measures of the platforms must be according to the privacy that any sensitive information (as voting) request in XXI century. If we are addressing young people, is essential that the e-platforms match with social networks and develop networking among their users, so the youngsters can share their participation, make visible the topics and engage other young people.

! Therefore, these tools must have, at least, easy guidelines to know how to use them to its full potential. Also, the design and the experience of the youngsters using the platforms must be hand-to-hand, developing interfaces that allow the participants not only to propose-discuss-vote in an easy way, but also to attract young people through simulations, games and interacting directly with decision-makers. ! With all this in mind, we hope that public administrations, businesses, NGO's, youth organisations and youngsters can explore the electronic platforms evaluated in this handbook and use them to contribute to the development of future electronic platforms and, even more important, to empower the new generations of Europeans. !Yours sincerely,

CLARIFICATION The logos of the electronic platforms that are shown in this handbook were obtained through their respective web pages. In this sense, it is important to mention that this handbook is used only for educational purposes and does not seek to generate any kind of commercial or econocimic gain. !DISCLAIMER - CREATIVE COMMONS This handbook is under the licence Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) This means that you must give appropriate credit and provide a link to the license, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use (Attribution). You may not use the material for commercial purposes (NonCommercial). If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material (NoDerivatives).

Good Practice Exchange on eParticipation Platforms among European Youth. Project 2016-2-ES02-KA205-008260 implemented by Biderbost, Boscan & Rochin (BB&R) in collaboration with Human Right Youth Organisation (HRYO) and Momentum World. !http://e-participation.eu !Biderbost, Boscan & Rochin John Dalton, 38-52, Bajo J 37007 Salamanca, Spain bbyr@bbyr.com www.bbyr.com