28 Sep Second Digital Inclusion Award Ceremony organised by Telecentre-Europe
28 Sep, 2015
The Unite-IT network established the Digital Inclusion Award in 2014 as the annual recognition to organisations and professionals who work in the field of digital inclusion and who create, often with very small resources, innovative ways to bring digital opportunities and skills to people in their communities. The Unite-IT award ceremony took place on 24th September 2015 during Telecentre Europe Annual Conference (TEAC 2015).
Gordana Stankov Stojilovic, from International Aid Network (IAN, Serbia) hosted the ceremony, while four Board members of Telecentre Europe were invited to present and hand the awards to the winners. The winners received certificates and symbolic statues for each category.
Four organisations, in four categories, were selected and awarded in Belgrade:
- Education and training: “Tieto Latvia” LTD, Latvia
- Youth employability: YouRock Online Ltd, United Kingdom
- Vulnerable groups at risk of exclusion: Citizens Advice, United Kingdom
- Gender equality: City of Venice, Italy
Education and training
“Tieto Latvia” -an IT company- won the award in this category with their mobile application “GUDRINIEKS” (Wise One). The application is a free educational tool designed for preschool, first and second grade schoolchildren. “GUDRINIEKS” helps children develop mathematical understanding, skills and strengthen their knowledge base acquired at school. More information: http://goo.gl/IkkeF9
Youth employability
YouRock.Jobs platform, established by YouRock Online Ltd (UK) in 2013, was selected as the best entry in Youth employability category. It is a creative tool developed for young job-seekers under 30 wishing to showcase their first working skills and connect with employers. Available in 17 languages, YouRock aims to help 500,000 young people in Europe to build attractive online portfolios and find a job. More information http://yourock.jobs
Vulnerable groups at risk of exclusion
Citizens Advice from United Kingdom won with their Digital Money Coaching. This project is about a community of volunteers who work with Citizens Advice clients to improve their digital skills in the context of financial capability to use online and mobile banking; price comparison sites and energy switching sites. They also teach people how to access local and national government services online such as welfare benefits. More information: https://goo.gl/GIl4fn
Gender equality
The winner of Gender equality category is a project Spazio M@mm@ (M@mm@ space) run by the City of Venice in Italy. It is a dedicated space for mothers and children, next to the room that houses an Internet centre, opened in January 2015. The idea was to address the gender gap and attract more women to the centre and to computer classes by providing a space for children with a babysitter. Children play while their mothers are learning ICT skills. More information: http://goo.gl/oRdnzo
Call for good practices and selection
Organisations working in the field of digital inclusion and training were invited to submit their good practices and policies in May-August 2015. The Unite-IT network collects each year new European practices into a comprehensive database that can be used by all its registered members. The Unite-IT Project Jury evaluated 42 good practices and 18 resources from all over Europe based on the following criteria: (1) innovation of the good practice/resource, (2) its usability, and (3) relevance.
What is Unite-IT?
Unite-IT is a project and an informal network site for teachers and trainers, experts, practitioners, business, policy makers and academics in the field of digital inclusion. The main objective of the project is to sustain an online community and collect good practices on digital competence, employability, social inclusion and social cohesion. Unite-IT is funded by the European Commission’s Life Long Learning Programme.
Four Unite-IT Digital Inclusion Award winners of 2015
