The impact of technological transformations on the digital generation: Digital citizenship policy analysis (Estonia, Greece and the UK)

This report critically assesses over forty policy documents relating to digital citizenship from Estonia, Greece and the United Kingdom. The analysis is conducted in the three countries focusing on the inclusion and promotion of digital citizenship. The focus is on policy documents by government bodies, educational organisations, and civil society actors where these are available.

Overall, there is a tendency to reduce digital citizenship to technical ICT competencies or at best digital competencies that focus primarily on using e-governance and other digital services as part of one’s everyday life as a citizen. We recommend a more involved definition of digital citizenship competencies that focuses on the use of digital services, the Internet, ICT tools and social media as part of not only living one’s life as a citizen but also as part of political participation, civic engagement and expression of personal political agency. Ideally, digital citizenship competencies should be more than the sum of their parts (e.g., more than digital competencies plus ICT skills plus media literacy).

To that effect, we include here an account of how the overall results of the DigiGen ‘ICT and Civic Participation’ have been discussed across all the other dimensions of DigiGen (family, education and leisure), and how we can inform EU Policy, United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and best practices across the board.