CARE Czech Republic

CARE Czech Republic (CARE), proposed to pilot a project in western Georgia, where physical access to digital tools is limited, with a particular focus on young women who face more digital inequality and safety issues online. The project seeks to foster youth civic activism, building an inclusive community through increased digital literacy, while contributing to safer and more inclusive use of digital technologies among all genders.

CARE is well established in western Georgia, having engaged youth communities in peacebuilding activities, youth empowerment and public campaigning to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The pilot project is directly aligned with the Local Area Group’s development strategy. The initial draft of the project indicated the development and delivery of a curriculum to a group of selected participants. As we worked with CARE to understand the aims of the project, we shared our value of inclusive co-design.

CARE personnel saw this as an opportunity to revise the project proposal and find ways to include the participants in the design and delivery of the program, rather than simply recruiting them to learn from a pre- made curriculum. As funded, the project takes a youth-led, co-design approach, with the aim to build upon CARE’s existing networks to address digital capacity gaps among youth and to provide local youth with the necessary skills and tools to be active,safe and effective online.

While the project began in January 2022, we want to highlight this ongoing cooperation, as it illustrates the power of the approach to partnership that we are committed to taking.

For quite some time now, I have been trying to live actively and be an active citizen, trying to contribute to the development of my region. I decided to participate in the project for several reasons. I have wanted to study digital technologies for a long time, because I think that this knowledge is very important for every young person today. In addition, I want to contribute to the development of my country. Most of all I love the activities that the trainer offers during the training, besides I love the fun and friendly environment.

Preliminary feedback from participants, like NG, aged 15, is positive