The goal of the Cyber Citizen Project is to create a learning portal that contains content aimed at citizens, taking into account different target groups. The portal offers educational and communication elements that improve citizens’ ability to operate safely in the digital world. As part of the project, a game is also being developed that teaches civic skills related to cyber security. The project has received 5 million euros of funding from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility for three years.
In the first phase of the project, the current state of teaching cyber security skills to citizens in all European Union member states was surveyed. The research report highlighted the knowledge and skills EU cyber citizens need in their increasingly digital everyday life. One of the key observations was that citizens’ cyber security is perceived differently in different EU countries. Although digital everyday life is becoming an increasingly large part of everyday life, the perception of information and skills related to cyber security varies considerably from EU country to country.
The study revealed that EU countries have a clear desire to develop citizens’ cybersecurity skills and support lifelong learning. However, the differences between different target groups have not yet been sufficiently taken into account, and more cyber security experts and trainers are needed. The study also emphasized that the EU countries’ strategic cybersecurity training guidelines are relatively recent.
In the next phase of the Cyber Citizen Project, a model for teaching cyber security skills to citizens will be developed, and in the third phase, a learning portal, game development and other content production will be implemented. Gamification of learning will be an integral part of the learning portal, as the study emphasized that games have become established as a form of social behavior and an increasingly central form of learning.
The further work of the project also includes the creation of a Europe-wide cooperation network, which welcomes all those interested in developing citizens’ cybersecurity skills. The Cyber Citizen Project is a crucial step towards empowering citizens with the necessary skills and knowledge to protect themselves and their personal information in the digital world.
HT
Source: The Nordic Page