Technology changes have greatly impacted the way that people work across the world. According to a report from the European Commission, 84% of people used the internet in regularly in 2019. However, only 56% of the population polled have at least basic digital skills and only about one third of Europeans possesses above basic digital skills (31%). This gap in digital skills makes interacting in a digital society difficult. Companies across Europe, including Certiport, are working to close this digital skills gap and create lifelong digital learners. Many of these organizations are coming together to empower Europeans with digital skills through All Digital Weeks.
What Is ALL DIGITAL Weeks?
All Digital Weeks is an annual digital inclusion and empowerment campaign run at digital competence centres, libraries, community centres, schools, and other venues across Europe. Every year it helps 100,000 Europeans to learn and be inspired by what technology can do for them. All Digital Weeks encourages various activities to support the Europeans who do not have enough digital skills to participate fully in the society and benefit from digital transformation.
What’s Happening for ALL DIGITAL Weeks?
Formerly a one-week event, this year’s All Digital Weeks campaign will be the biggest one yet. All Digital Weeks 2022 now has five weeks of events to help motivate and empower Europeans with the digital skills they need to succeed in the workforce.
The launch event will start at 14:10 CET, with a keynote speech from Mariya Gabriel, EU Commissioner of Innovation, Research, Culture, Education, and Youth. Week one will focus primarily on enhancing digital skills and promoting digital inclusion and accessibility. Supported by Huawei and Microsoft, the All Digital Weeks team will host an online workshop on EU digital projects, and a webinar organized by the European Parents’ Association.
Certiport is proud to sponsor week two, and we will focus on fostering digital literacy and tackling disinformation. Catch the launch event here. You won’t want to miss the week’s additional sessions, including a webinar on 23 March at 10:00 CET to discuss how to support young people in using digital tools for active civic participation and a webinar 24 March at 16:00 CET to learn innovative approaches to enhancing media literacy.
The third week’s all about promoting the use of the European Digital Competence Framework and exploring the development of the European Digital Skills Certification. Incredible sessions this week will focus on everything from transforming libraries in the digital age to how digital skills are transferable across different work and life roles.
Microsoft is bringing in support for week four, to discuss how to achieve cybersecurity and safer internet. Educators will especially be interested in joining the RAYUELA webinar on 6 April at 14:00 CET, an EU project on cyberbullying and youth.
The fifth and final week will focus on improving STEM and STEAM skills for society and encouraging girls’ and women’s participation in STEM studies and careers. This week is packed with sessions tackling everything from EQUALS-EU, an innovation camp to promote female presence in STEAM matters, to 3D printing.
It’ll be a busy five weeks, but with lots of valuable information to empower Europeans and educators with knowledge for digital skills success. If you’re interested in registering, you can see an overview of all the week’s international events here.
How Do I Get Involved in ALL DIGITAL Weeks?
In addition to the international events listed above, regional All Digital Weeks activities will happen in many European countries throughout the five weeks. If you’d like to see which regional or national events are taking place near you, you can find more information here. You check out the event map, or simply by click on the flag for your country.
We can’t wait for you to join us throughout all the All Digital Weeks events. Don’t’ forget to follow along on social media with the hashtags #ADWeeks2022 and #AllDigitalWeeks.