Outreach Education and the Program Digital Everywhere PLUS What’s the Issue?

• December 18, 2024
• admin

One of the most challenging aspects of educational work is reaching people who, due to financial, linguistic, or other barriers, struggle to build skills—or who perceive no benefit in (continuing) education. This is also true for building digital competencies. In Austria, one in 20 people reject digitalization outright. Various studies explore how to reach and engage these individuals, aligning with the motto “leave no one behind,” the central promise of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda.

When the mountain won’t come to the prophet…

A key solution for overcoming a lack of interest in learning is outreach education. This approach involves bringing educational opportunities directly to people instead of waiting for them to enroll in courses. Rooted in life-world-oriented pedagogy, it aims to lower barriers to education and promote participation. The goal is to make education accessible, inclusive, and low-threshold.

Educational providers must meet target groups in their own environments—such as neighborhoods, communities, social institutions, or workplaces. Offerings are tailored to the needs and situations of the target groups in terms of timing, content, and methods. Building trust through personal relationships is essential to initiating and supporting educational processes. Programs must also be accessible, free of charge, and free of bureaucratic hurdles.

Where does this happen?

Typical examples include workplace literacy programs. Career guidance for youth in disadvantaged neighborhoods can also take an outreach approach. Language courses for migrants might be held in shelters or community centers. Educational information can be shared in parks, while traveling exhibitions can be displayed in town halls, health centers, or prisons. Parenting workshops can be initiated through schools or kindergartens, and digitalization buses can park outside local grocery stores.

For example, the association “Die Kärntner Volkshochschulen” operates a fully equipped mobile classroom called the VHS-Mobil, which offers six training stations. The bus stops at busy public places, and staff connect personally with local residents.

Further examples can be found in the handbook of the Erasmus project On the Move.

The program digital everywhere PLUS

As part of Austria’s Digital Competence Initiative (DKO), low-threshold educational opportunities for digital skills have been publicly funded since 2023. Starting in 2024, these include digitalization workshops in municipalities, delivered with the help of “digital interpreters” who are dispatched to local communities and deliver sessions at suitable venues. These short workshops provide practical knowledge on topics such as internet security, online administrative services, and artificial intelligence. This offering will be expanded in 2025 through the Digital Everywhere PLUS program, which will feature similar content alongside more extensive workshop series.

The program also includes workshop series that individuals can book directly. For this option, providers are required to design outreach measures upfront to ensure target groups are reached. Examples of such measures include proactive outreach campaigns, partnerships with specialized organizations, or multilingual course materials. Educational providers can submit proposals for funding through an application portal until January 31, 2025.

What makes digital everywhere PLUS a Good Practice example?

The Digital Everywhere PLUS program was designed using diverse insights and feedback from prior initiatives. This includes longer workshop durations, opportunities for blended learning, and mandatory measures to engage target groups, such as outreach educational campaigns.

The workshop series offered through the program are accessible and free of charge, catering to people’s specific needs. This approach fosters positive learning experiences, which can lay the foundation for independent, further learning—essential for fostering lifelong learning, especially in the context of building digital skills.