The CyGen project brings together children, young people, teachers, parents and academics to develop evidence-based methods to promote young people’s safe online participation in diverse European countries.
Children’s and young people’s ideas are given voice in the CyGen project. Incorporating children’s and young people’s ideas about ways they manage online risks and challenges, CyGen offers genuine and innovative engagement with children and young people.
By engaging fully with children and young people, CyGen offers unique insights into the challenges facing them in their uses of digital media, its risks and how to mitigate these.
Child-centred, participatory methods are central to CyGen which uses creative, play based and participatory design approaches to enable children and young people of different ages and abilities in diverse European countries to participate in the project at all stages, from the co-produced needs analysis through to programme design, evaluation & dissemination.
The CyGen innovative participatory design recognises that…
- Children are experts in their own lives (Clark, 2012; James et. al. 1998)
- EU policy and guidance highlights that children need support to engage in opportunities and challenges presented by increasing digitisation (Digital Agenda for Europe 2020)
- Evidence-based approaches are important for supporting children’s digital participation, social and emotional literacy and safety (BIK, 2012; 2104; Enable, 2015; Livingstone et al., 2014).
- Schools have a key role in supporting children and informing parents to guide and support children in ways that children find useful (BIK, 2012; Department for Education UK, 2014; House of Commons Education Select Committee, 2015; Livingstone et. al. 2014; Livingstone, 2015).