DIGI CORE

Project Scope and General Objective 

Enhancing children's participation through Digital Complaints and Reporting (Children Digi-CORE) is a project between Italy (University Degli Studi di Torino, Associazione Agevolando, Synesthesia SRL, Regione Piemonte) and Cyprus.

Powerful but neglected tools in promoting children's rights are direct complaints; and therefore, reporting, meaning communicative acts raising the attention of public authorities to any violation of rights is less accessible for the reporters or peers. To address the lack of reporting by children and to enhance their participation, the Children Digi-CORE project will design, test, and promote a mobile app, allowing children to report violations to local ombudspersons using an innovative and child-friendly digital tool.

The development of Standardized CORE interdisciplinary procedures for managing children's digital complaints will constitute the basis for the interdisciplinary training of professionals using tools to facilitate peer-learning and knowledge transfer with colleagues. Policy recommendations for national and international stakeholders will enable the uptake of the results at the EU level. Building on the extensive networks of partners and supporting authorities, the project results will be broadly disseminated, ensuring that the Digi-CORE methodology can be incorporated into the systems of different EU countries.

Specific Objectives

• Participatory design and testing of the Digi-Core app empowering children who are capable of forming their of forming their own views to understand their rights and reports
• Defining and testing Standardized CORE interdisciplinary procedures to manage children's reporting
• Interdisciplinary training for professionals
• Exchange of Knowledge and good practices, promotion of peer-learning between ombudspersons and professionals and establishment of an integrated policy framework

Activities

• The Children Digi-CORE Quality Assurance activities will follow a cycle of Monitoring, Assessment and Improvement to oversee the perfotmance indicators established.

Results

• Children have easier access to public authorities
• Piedmont's local ombudsperson is the reference point for children if their rights are violated
• Local public authorities improve their child protection systems, through the Digi-CORE app and the integrated mechanisms for managing children's direct complaints
• Improved synergies of professionals with local public authorities, thanks to new specific knowledge and skills provided

The project website is available here.

Partners

• Cyprus: "Hope For Children"  CRC Policy Center
• Italy: University of Turin / Association Facilitating / Synesthesia SRL / Piedmont Region 

Funding Reference

• The project is co-financed by the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme of the European Commission.

Project Number

• Ref. 101008337

Implementation Period

• 01/04/2021 - 04/01/2023