participating in digital society – homeless youth and the use of ict
DESCRIPTION
Presentation given by Bibi Agger, UDENFOR (DK) at the 2013 FEANTSA conference, "Investing in young people to prevent a lost generation: policy and practice in addressing youth homelessness" http://feantsa.org/spip.php?article1596&lang=enTRANSCRIPT
Working Group 5
Participating in Digital Society
Homeless Youth and the Use of
ICT
Investing in young people to prevent a lost generation in Europe:
key policy and practice in addressing youth homelessness
8th November 2013, Prague, Czech Republic
Bibi Agger
• Deputy Director for project UDENFOR.
• Holder of a MA in Psychology and Social
Science, as well as a Diploma of
Leadership and Organisatonal
Development.
• [email protected] Investing in young people to prevent a lost generation in Europe:
key policy and practice in addressing youth homelessness
8th November 2013, Prague, Czech Republic
Projekt UDENFOR
• Projekt UDENFOR is a private foundation
which combines active social street work
with training and research in approaches
to homelessness and social
marginalisation.
• www.udenfor.dk
Investing in young people to prevent a lost generation in Europe:
key policy and practice in addressing youth homelessness
8th November 2013, Prague, Czech Republic
Investing in young people to prevent a lost generation in Europe:
key policy and practice in addressing youth homelessness
8th November 2013, Prague, Czech Republic
Projekt UDENFOR
• Practical work towards
the individual on the
street:
Outreach work
Ad hoc projects: Mobile
Café, Migrant project,
IT-project e.g.
• Communication about
homeless people &
homelessness:
Conferences, studies,
etc
Media
Dialogue with
politicians, decision-
makers, etc
IT - Project
• The lady you saw in the previous picture is an outreach
worker in project UDENFOR’s “IT project”. It is an “ad hoc
project” which started a year ago.
• IT-project:
Target group: Digitally and socially excluded from today’s
society. Know many of them already. Few youngsters.
Working on street-level, introducing computer technology &
services to homeless non-users of IT.
The homeless people involved in all the work on I-pads
Investing in young people to prevent a lost generation in Europe:
key policy and practice in addressing youth homelessness
8th November 2013, Prague, Czech Republic
Projekt UDENFOR, IT and
Digital Inclusion
• Besides the IT-project we launched earlier this year, we
did a minor study on the use of ICT among the homeless
youth; ICT meaning Information, Communication &
Technology.
Grown un in a digital world (in contrast to the users of
our IT-projekt).
Facing the complications of being both ICT-user and
homeless at the same time.
Investing in young people to prevent a lost generation in Europe:
key policy and practice in addressing youth homelessness
8th November 2013, Prague, Czech Republic
The Study (Participants)
• 10 Interview participants
• Age range: 18-29
• 2 Women & 8 Men
• 4 Street sleepers (one former) & 6 sleeping in shelters
• Challenged by complex overlapping problems, such as mental
diagnoses, family problems, lack of supporting networks, daily
drug or alcohol use and distrust of the social system
• Almost none of them consider themselves to be “homeless” –
but that they just happen to not have housing
Investing in young people to prevent a lost generation in Europe:
key policy and practice in addressing youth homelessness
8th November 2013, Prague, Czech Republic
The Study (Analysis)
• Conceptual framework: in order to be digitally
included you to:
Use ICT (skills)
Have the physical equipment to use ICT (access)
Find it meaningful for you to use ICT(engagement)
Investing in young people to prevent a lost generation in Europe:
key policy and practice in addressing youth homelessness
8th November 2013, Prague, Czech Republic
The Study (Homeless Youth as
Relatively Digitally-Included) • ICT-skills: Digitally trained
Using ICTs in different ways
ICTs are naturally, incorporated in everyday activities
• ICT-access: Own mobile phones (at least, most of the time)
Internet access in libraries, their shelters, or at friends
Extra effort
Weekly or daily use of Internet
• ICT-engagement: Engaged in ICT? – Yes!
Engaged in web-based civil services? - No
Investing in young people to prevent a lost generation in Europe:
key policy and practice in addressing youth homelessness
8th November 2013, Prague, Czech Republic
The Study (Conclusions)
• Reach out through ICT.
• Digital inclusion is important for social inclusion –
but does not necessarily lead to it.
• Involvement and participation – starting point in
engagement.
Investing in young people to prevent a lost generation in Europe:
key policy and practice in addressing youth homelessness
8th November 2013, Prague, Czech Republic
Youth-project
@ projekt UDENFOR
• Creating new arenas of expression and development for homeless youths.
• Establishing corporation with creative professionals and positive peers.
• Offering workshops in storytelling and the making and sharing of films.
• A mobile production-office, designed by the young participants themselves
• Reflection of own lives
• Ensuring first-person-perspectives on youth homelessness, enhancing
participation of homeless youth in social debates.
• Arranging a film-screening/seminar based on the film made by the young
participants
• Building bridges
Investing in young people to prevent a lost generation in Europe:
key policy and practice in addressing youth homelessness
8th November 2013, Prague, Czech Republic
Investing in young people to prevent a lost generation in Europe:
key policy and practice in addressing youth homelessness
8th November 2013, Prague, Czech Republic
Thank you for listening!
Bibi Agger See more at www.udenfor.dk/uk
www.facebook.com/UDENFOR