Strengthening young people's digital skills

The development of digital skills is a need of all generations for a successful private and professional life. Being aware of the fact that the future of young people in North Macedonia is tied to the development of a set of digital skills, the Macedonian American Alumni Association initiated a project for strengthening young people's digital skills. The project was successfully implemented through a series of activities that include several training modules: Digital skills for civic engagement; Critical thinking, Disinformation and Accountability; Digital activism and media Civic Engagement for Public Diplomacy; Value-based participatory leadership and development of digital campaigns for civic engagement.

All the specific modules helped young people who participated in the program to improve their participatory leadership skills and strengthen their capacities to become future young leaders with abilities to identify and address social challenges and design civic engagement projects using technology. The participants also learned new skills to help them create campaigns, as well as tools and communication strategies for civic engagement on a new media channel.

At the final conference of the project, a panel discussion on Digital Skills for Civic Engagement was organized, and young people from secondary schools and professors who were part of the project took part. The key topic was the importance of digital skills, and the status and opportunities for education and training in the Republic of North Macedonia.

Among the most important conclusions of the meeting can be highlighted the message about the importance of digital literacy of the entire population so that they can actively feel the benefits of digital transformation. In parallel with digital literacy, it was emphasized that it is necessary to work on the collective awareness of the benefits of using digital technologies.