BUILDING A STRONG FOUNDATION FOR THE DIGITAL ERA
There are various definitions of digital citizenship, but they all agree on some of the common principles:
o Using technology to make your community better.
o Engaging respectfully online with people who have different beliefs than you.
o Using technology to make your voice heard by public leaders and shape public policy.
o Determining the validity of online sources of information.
Digital citizenship goes beyond conversations about personal responsibility. It’s about being active citizens who see possibilities instead of problems, and opportunities instead of risks as they curate a positive and effective digital footprint with respect to human rights and dignity. Citizenship is ever-evolving and thus requires ongoing conversation and debate. What is appropriate in one time-frame or culture is not necessarily appropriate in the other. Digital citizenship, as a relatively new form of citizenship, will require ample conversation, especially as society works to educate youth in this new realm. Finally, citizenship is intimately tied to community. Citizenship does not reside in a vacuum – it must have a community. Digital citizenship has reformulated the reach and nature of communities. Such communities can now be multicultural, global, highly focused and inclusive.
Cambridge Dictionary defines digital citizenship as the state of being skilled in using the internet in order to communicate with others, buy and sell things, and take part in politics, and understanding how to do this in a safe and responsible way. According to Karen Mossberger , one of the authors of Digital Citizenship: The Internet, Society, and Participation, digital citizens are “those who use the internet regularly and effectively.” In this sense a digital citizen is a person using information technology in order to engage in society, politics, and government.
More recent elaborations of the concept define digital citizenship as the self-enactment of people’s role in society through the use of digital technologies, stressing the empowering and democratising characteristics of the idea. Competences refer to the knowledge, values, attitudes, and skills that all citizens require to exercise and defend their democratic rights and responsibilities, and to promote and protect human rights, democracy, and the rule of law in digital space.
Europe’s goals for the digital decade are not only to create cutting-edge products and services, but also to foster a transformation that benefits citizens, workers and consumers alike. The Declaration spells out this aim in clear commitments and will allow us to promote our shared values for the digital transformation on the world stage.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signed in December 2022, European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles that reflects the shared goal of a digital transformation that puts people first. The rights put forward in the Declaration are guaranteed for everybody in the EU, online as they are offline. The EU recognised that digital transformation affects every aspect of people’s lives. It offers opportunities for greater personal wellbeing, sustainability and growth, but can also raise risks to which a public policy response is needed. With the Declaration on digital rights and principles, the EU wants to secure European values by:
• Putting people at the centre of the digital transformation;
• Supporting solidarity and inclusion through connectivity, digital education, training and skills, fair and just working conditions and access to digital public services;
• Restating the importance of freedom of choice and a fair digital environment;
• Fostering participation in the digital public space;
• Increasing safety, security and empowerment in the digital environment, in particular for young people;
• Promoting sustainability.