Improving the ability of young people to use digital technologies and learning digital literacy skills for meaningful actions in life situations
Improving the ability of young people to use digital technologies and learning digital literacy skills for meaningful actions in life situations
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India in its report on Key Indicators of Social Consumption in India (2015), stated that only 50% of urban Indian youth between the ages of 14 and 29 years were able to operate a computer. In Delhi, the nation’s capital, less than 50% households had at least one member of age 14 years and above with access to the Internet. Rapid increase in ownership of smartphones and laptops, and falling cost of data usage (charges for 1GB data in India is one of the lowest in the world), has enabled greater access to the Internet and social media, especially among young people. A recent newspaper report shows Indians, on average, spend 2.4 hours on social media everyday, in line with the global average; like youth around the world, young people in India are living in a digital world, their actions frequently determined by digital interactions. Internet and social media has made it easier to manipulate people with false information and fake news. Concerns about online safety and cyberbullying of young people are also well documented. Cyberbullying is most prevalent in India, with 37% parents in a 2018 Ipsos poll confirming their children had experienced cyberbullying.
There is also a widening gap between those with access to digital tools, who are becoming digitally literate, and those without the means or opportunities to do so. The digital divide in India disproportionately affects underprivileged and marginalised communities, restricting their access to basic public services, education, and employment opportunities as the government rapidly moves financial inclusion, education and welfare schemes online. The challenge though is not just of expanding the base of digitally literate individuals by including the poor and marginalised to increase their access to government services and schemes, but also equipping them with the necessary life skills required in this digital world by enabling them to learn the basics of online safety and to differentiate between credible/non-credible sources of information. Improvement in digital literacy skills is an indicator in achieving UN SDG 4.
Project Objectives
The proposed intervention seeks to build on the vision of India’s National Digital Literacy Mission “to empower at least one person per household with crucial digital literacy skills by 2020”. The focus will be on improving the ability of young people to use digital technologies and learn digital literacy skills for meaningful actions in life situations, including practical knowledge of government sites to access basic public services online (employment, education, and banking), how to deal with cyberbullying, recognising cyber theft, as well as issues of privacy, consent, illegal and prohibited content.
A 30-week contextually relevant, creative and engaging learning curriculum, delivered via smartphones and the indigenous sport of Kho-Kho, will be developed to teach functional digital literacy to marginalized youth in India. The intervention utilising this curriculum will aim at empowering school students to access public services for themselves and their families, ensure safety during online experiences and have self-affirming online social relations, especially gender relations. It will also help the school students to benefit from the digital economy by accessing new opportunities for career, education and economic inclusion.
In this phase of the project cycle, the following activities will be implemented:
Project Methodologies
Three pillars – of sport, technology and participatory learning – will be combined to drive this innovative learning experience. These three pillars will be used to create a specially designed curriculum which will build the skills of youth to find, consume, create and share digital content safely.
Project location
Delhi.
Project duration
1st January 2020 to 31st December 2020
Project Partners
Pro Sport Development
Funder
Laureus and The SOL (Sports. Opportunities. Lives) Foundation
