The European Institute of Romania (EIR) organised on June 22, 2022, between 10:00 and 11:30, the event with the theme “Young people from Romania and the digital future of Europe”, (online format – Zoom), within the series Dialogues@EIR.
Our guests at the dialogue were Oana Ștefăniță, Ph.D., university lecturer, Faculty of Communication and Public Relations/SNSPA, Vlad Măcelaru, advisor to the Minister of Research, Innovation, and Digitalization, and Andrei Popescu, European Solidarity Corps coordinator, National Agency for Community Programs in the Field of Education and Vocational Training. The event was moderated by Eliza Vaș, expert within the European Studies Unit (EIR).
The purpose of the debate was to raise awareness of the opportunities and challenges that the digital transition brings to young people, as well as to identify actions by which they can contribute to defining Europe’s digital decade, lifelong learning, and preparing for the future of work and developing digital skills.
During the event, the following ideas were presented:
- One of the challenges of digitalization is related to the ability to differentiate between safe, reliable sources in the online environment and those that use various strategies for cyber-attacks, disinformation, and fake news; counteracting these phenomena is possible through the development of digital skills.
- The university environment has an essential role in the digital transition process, having at its disposal the use of a wide range of tools, such as: submitting applications for European funding, changing the curriculum, and using new technologies in the learning process.
- The syndrome of the third person (the impression that we are better than others in the virtual environment) is one of the aspects that make us vulnerable in this space.
- Creative thinking skills, communication skills, the ability to collaborate, and respect offered to all Internet users, as well as respect for differences are priority elements in the digital environment; complementary to classical education, non-formal activities, through the involvement of NGOs, can contribute to the development of digital skills, being much more attractive for young people.
- Awareness of the opportunities and responsibilities derived from digital citizenship among the population is of great interest in everything that involves the digital transformation process.
- Young people can have the biggest impact in the digital transition, as they can start the “digitalization lumps”, considering that they are exposed to technology from an early age.
- Currently, in Romania, digital public services are used by a small number of people. In this context, better communication is required, as well as digital services differentiated by categories of users, so as to attract more citizens who can benefit from the advantages offered by the digital environment.
- All European programs emphasize three components: social inclusion, digital transformation, and climate change.
- In order to achieve optimal results regarding the digital transition, collaboration between various institutions, such as the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalization, and the Ministry of Sports is very important. But each of us can contribute to the success of the digital transformation.
- Through the European report “Shaping digital inclusion, safety and wellbeing in a post pandemic world“, data was collected from hundreds of young people and youth workers across Europe to examine the implications of the pandemic on digital inclusion, safety and well-being, and one of the evaluated aspects looked at the degree of familiarity with the trends that will characterize the following years: more than 51% of those surveyed have not heard about the internet of behaviors, the internet of things, deep fakes or hyperconnectivity.
- Cancel culture is a quite common phenomenon in the online space, and critical thinking can make the difference in the ability to understand multiple perspectives, without canceling, without blaming a person, using the digital environment. More than 65% of the people who participated in the aforementioned study stated that they had faced a situation of digital exclusion at least once.