An Cosán is Ireland’s largest community education provider with a long history of innovative approaches to adult education. Pioneering educational technology in the adult community education sector led An Cosán to see firsthand the impact of the digital divide on marginalised communities across Ireland. With its mission to leave no one behind, a project to tackle digital exclusion was launched in 2019, with the development of Digital Stepping Stones, a digital assessment tool based on DigComp. The project has evolved into the Get Yourself Online campaign to help achieve the target of 80% of Irish adults with basic digital skills by 2030. Currently 1 in 2 adults in Ireland lack basic digital skills.
As part of the Get Yourself Online campaign, An Cosán developed a platform with 21 micro e-learning modules for each of the DigComp competencies. An Cosán also rolled out an initiative to recruit local Digital Champions to be community-based advocates for digital inclusion and learn how to use the DigComp-based tools. In 2024, An Cosán launched Ireland’s first digital literacy community of practice – an online space for educators, tutors, support workers and librarians amongst others – to collaborate, communicate and create resources to address the barriers faced by citizens experiencing digital exclusion.
In the webinar, Mark Kelly, Policy and Communications Manager, An Cosán and Ashling Johnston, Digital Skills Tutor will present the story of An Cosán’s digital inclusion journey through the following five steps:
- Where it began: the research, and context
- Why we choose DigComp to address digital inclusion
- The development of Digital Stepping Stones
- Evolving into a national Get Yourself Online Campaign
- The launching of Ireland’s first digital literacy community of practice
The presentation will be followed as usual by a Q&A session with participants.
