Sonovista and Telekom Austria launched ‘Buntes Fernsehen’ in October 2004 in the Upper Austrian community of Engerwitzdorf, and it has become a sustainable part of community life. This project was one of the forerunners to foresee the trend of social media (YouTube had not yet been launched) and its potential for increasing digital literacy, especially within scattered rural communities. Since then local citizens with no eSkill background have been empowered to play an active role in shaping their own ‘television program’. By creating a good emotional experience around digital literacy (local content people can relate to and that everyone can watch on TV) the project was able to make it possible for normal citizens to leverage their eSkills and to train their fellow citizens within the region themselves.
Technology solution
Technology choice: Proprietary technology, Standards-based technologyMain results, benefits and impacts
For the first time digital literacy was promoted inside a rural community in the form of an interdisciplinary television project. It empowers citizens of all age groups, social backgrounds and skill levels to actively participate on a sustainable basis. Right from the start the project offered a full scale eSkill training program for all aspects of content production (storytelling, camera work, editing, production etc.), increasing digital literacy throughout the region following a train-the-trainer concept. Today the local community produces and distributes more than 100 video features per year. The quantity and quality of the local content is still increasing, and digital literacy is promoted by the community members themselves. The project shows that normal citizens are able to increase their digital literacy when addressed with an emotional value proposition that is socially relevant and when they are involved, empowered and supported. With this approach the digital literacy of the whole region could be significantly increased while the participants experienced their education as a natural process driven by self-motivation.
Return on investment
Return on investment: Not applicable / Not availableLessons learnt
Lesson 1 - By creating a good emotional experience around digital literacy with local content people can relate to and the fact that everyone can watch the content on TV, the project was able to make it possible for normal citizens to improve their eSkills and train their fellow citizens within the region themselves. With this approach the digital literacy of the whole region could be significantly increased while the participants experienced their education as a natural and enjoyable process driven by self-motivation. Lesson 2 - “Buntes Fernsehen Engerwitzdorf†helps to close generation gaps by co-production and by sharing viewing experiences. Furthermore, it closes the digital divide by engaging and training non-technical individuals. Lesson 3 - The project interconnects the scattered social groups and creates a virtual town centre, a market place for local content. The project supports regional development by offering a communication environment that helps to integrate stakeholders of all backgrounds – from farmers, settled in the community for generations, to new inhabitants who recently came from a nearby city.
Scope: Regional (sub-national)