From the 17th to 18th of March, the DigiGen team regrouped in Leicester for the latest Consortium Meeting. The first day focused on seeing the synergies between the different areas of research: family life, civic participation, leisure, and education. We used roundtables to guide discussion between thematic domains on how vulnerabilities in one area influence how strengths in another domain are realised, and vice-versa. This lead to us breaking down previous separations between domains and producing a more holistic picture of the impact of technological transformation on children and young people.
The second day was the start of DigiGen translating our research into policy. Our impact partner, COFACE Families Europe, presented our approach to navigating current and future EU policy frameworks. The starting frame is the draft EU Digital Rights and Principles, which allows us, align our policy recommendations with the EU’s approach to the Digital Decade. We once again used roundtables to bring our insights together and develop potential policy approaches. The next step will be to meet again in Cluj Napoca, Romania, to fine-tune our DigiGen messaging and advocacy approach.