Within the framework of the ASAP project the co-creation workshops serve as points of contact between the project research team and identified priority groups: teachers, educators, experts, parents, school kids, school directors.
Conducted across the consortium’s countries, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, Croatia, Czech Republic, these workshops aim to facilitate moments of connection and shared experiences, leading to the collaborative creation of new knowledge. Aligning with the project’s core objectives, this knowledge emerges through the sharing of challenges, best practices, and critical discussions of local experiences. The ultimate goal:
to craft tools and design strategies applicable in the contexts where target groups — especially teachers, school leaders, and other staff —operate. The co-created knowledge aspires, therefore, to enhance their performance and competencies.
Under the theme “Social Media as democratic spaces to grow and learn,” the second co-creation workshop (held in Porto, September 2023) delved into the role of digital media, particularly social networks, in fostering learning and growth experiences.
In the secondo co-creation workshop, as a starting point, we relied on the notion that these experiences significantly shape: how younger generations relate, express themselves, and grow in the digital age.
Building upon the outcomes of the workshop held in Maribor in March 2023, the second event aimed to highlight initiatives and experiences that intersected with digital citizenship issues and had potential for replication in other contexts.
Having this in mind, teachers from various parts of Portugal were invited to participate in the event, together with a set of invited speakers. Andreia Martins (Democracia do Bem Comum), Tito Morais and Cristiane Miranda (Agarrados à Net), and Teresa Sofia Castro (Alerta Premika) shared their experiences on projects with national or local impact. These projects employed different approaches to address citizenship issues and the impact of digital media on its construction. Their presentations promoted discussions among teachers and librarian teachers from various regions of the country, exploring the needs, challenges, and positive experiences in their contexts. The ASAP consortium partners participated in these discussions as observers and identifying Portuguese schools’ contexts.
Furthermore, acknowledging the importance of reflecting on knowledge creation methodologies, Professor and Researcher Andreia Pinto de Sousa was invited to lead a session on design-thinking.
The design thinking approach encouraged a hands-on perspective and critical reflection on identified needs in different target audiences, rejecting one-size-fits-all solutions.
The second co-creation workshop of the ASAP project aimed to build upon the groundwork laid in Maribor in March 2023 and to prepare the next steps of the project.
The event allowed the development of possible scenarios for an educational program to address the impact of digital and social media on the school community.
The upcoming events of the project will help the research team to move forward with this task and validate the content, strategies and approaches.
