Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA).
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA).
The project is addressed to:
Adult trainers in digital education operating in rural Territories
Adult education centres and social organisations
Public bodies involved in digital inclusion
The entire adult education sector can benefit from the results of the DESIRE Project on digital education in rural areas: a compendium of good practises of digital education in rural areas and an online toolkit for running digital courses for adults.
The compendium showcases best practices in digital education for rural areas, offering a wide range of teaching methods, learning tools, and engagement strategies. Available in English, French, and Italian, it serves as a multilingual guide for educators and stakeholders.
The online toolkit offers practical guidance for delivering digital courses to adults, featuring detailed descriptions of learning tools, objectives, target groups, duration, and pedagogical steps. Published in English, French, and Italian, it is designed for broad accessibility and dissemination.
In May, all DESIRE project partners gathered in Florence for the second face-to-face meeting . These two days of work were rich and productive, enabling us to make further progress on our collection of practices.
Over the last few months, each partner has mobilised its network to collect testimonials and feedback on different digital practices in rural areas. This fieldwork has enabled us to gain a better understanding of the implementation of these initiatives in France and Italy. We then identified the main similarities and differences, before organising them according to collectively-defined criteria, with the aim of making our guide clear, readable and accessible to as many people as possible.
The compendium of practices will be completed in English by mid-June. It will then be formatted and translated into French and Italian before dissemination
Inspiring meetings
In Florence, we also had the opportunity to meet two of Pixel and Pegaso's Italian partner structures:
Better Social : an inclusive digital agency offering training courses in the digital field (such as digital communication), aimed at people with disabilities. It supports its learners throughout their career, from training to professional integration.
Glocal Factory : a cooperative engaged in the design and implementation of projects and training linked to education, innovative learning, entrepreneurship, social inclusion and the integration of migrants. It supports social economy organisations to meet the needs of local communities and promote a more inclusive future.
These exchanges enabled us to discover inspiring practices and gain a better understanding of how associations and cooperatives work in Tuscany, and more widely in Italy.
Next step: our Online Toolkit
The meeting also marked the start of our second deliverable: an online toolkit for digital education professionals. Over the coming months, each partner will select 4 or 5 practices, according to common criteria, which will then be integrated into this online platform.
Conviviality at the heart of the Florentine meeting
Last but not least, the meeting was also punctuated by convivial moments such as a shared dinner and a tour of Florence, which all participants seemed to enjoy. A great team dynamic to keep the project moving forward!
For our March meeting, we welcomed several members of the ANCT (Agence Nationale de la Cohésion des Territoires - French National Agency) who came to talk to us about their digital-related activities. This agency supports local authorities in reducing the digital divide and developing digital services adapted to local needs. In terms of the DESIRE project, this meeting enabled us to highlight potential links between this structure and our project.
We also took advantage of the meeting to review progress on the Compendium of practices and the various testimonials and interviews that we plan to analyse in April.
Our next meeting is scheduled for beginning of May, in Florence!
The DESIRE project partners met in January and February. This was an opportunity to take stock of our communication tools, but also, to review the progress of our work on collecting practices . Some fifteen organisations have already responded to our survey on digital education practices in rural areas. We are continuing to process the information gathered and will now be conducting more detailed interviews to present it in our "Compendium of Good Practices" in the Summer of 2025.
This meeting was also an opportunity to start planning our next meeting in Florence in May 2025.
