Key Insights from the EDYP Focus Groups

As part of the Enviro-Digital Youth Project, a focus group in Romania provided valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by youth workers in integrating digital tools with environmental education.

The findings underline specific needs and potential strategies for empowering rural communities through targeted digital initiatives.

Digital Skills
Participants displayed confidence in basic tools but struggled with advanced digital storytelling and creating impactful visuals. Current efforts are limited to sporadic social media posts and in-person activities, indicating a gap in leveraging digital platforms for broader outreach.

Challenges
- - Rural youth have minimal access to digital tools beyond smartphones, restricting their engagement with environmental topics.
- - Awareness of global environmental issues remains little, with few connections made to local realities.

Opportunities
- - Participants identified a strong need for short, community-focused videos explaining how global environmental challenges manifest locally.
- - Training in tools like Canva and Powtoon was highlighted as essential to develop engaging and relatable narratives.
Specific Needs
Practical workshops combining digital skills with environmental storytelling were emphasized. Youth workers need training in creating visual content that resonates with rural audiences, making global issues relevant to their daily lives

Next Steps for EDYP

The insights from the Romanian focus group will directly influence the design of EDYP’s training modules and resources, ensuring they address real challenges. By focusing on localized, accessible digital content, the project aims to:

- Build youth workers' confidence in using advanced digital tools.
- Bridge the gap between global environmental issues and local realities.
- Foster engagement among rural youth, empowering them to take action within their communities.

Conclusion

The Romanian focus group reaffirms the importance of tailored approaches in environmental education. By equipping youth workers with the right skills and tools, EDYP will create meaningful change, inspiring action in communities often left out of digital advancements.

—

Financed with the funds of the European Union. The expressed opinions and views reflect solely the opinion of the author and they do not have to coincide with the views of the European Union or the National Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting body cannot be held responsible for them.