Mobile Communities to Facilitate Social Inclusion of Youngsters

Acronym of the case:

ComeIn

Web address of the case:

http://www.comein-project.eu

Country of the case:

Pan european

Posting Date:

3 February 2009

Last Edited Date:

09 April 2010

Author:

Pilar Perez (Atos Origin)

mobile | inclusion | Youth

Type of initiative

Project or service

Case Abstract

Young people are assets to development and potencial agents of social change, yet youth exclusion is widespread and increasing across Europe. Such exclusion translates to unbearable costs both to the individual, being deprived of access to important assets, and to society, having to finance the burden of marginalised groups instead of benefiting from their productive potential.
Through the concept of online communities, ICT has the potential to serve as a gateway to social inclusion. However, computer and internet access of amrginalised young people are limited raising the need to develop alternative methods to approach them through ICT.
The main objective of ComeIn is to study and utilise mobile networks and telephones that are most commonly used by marginalised youth, as the main infrastructure for social inclusion. Using innovative real â€“time integrated communication video solutions, this project will develop a networked media platform that will give rise to mobile online communities, delivering interactive media content specifically aimed at marginalised youth.
This approach combines the benefits of the online community concept with an inclusive approach, realised through the most abundant device used by marginalised youth in Europe- mobile phones.
The goals of this exploratory project include:
- provide groups of marginalised youth with ICT based mobile online communities
- design and deliver content aimed to facilitate social inclusion of marginalised youth of various backgrounds.
- Analyse the impact of ICT and mobile network use by marginalised youth of various backgrounds.
Above the technological impact, such a programme will provide young people with knowledge, capabilities, networking and skills which will better their chances of becoming integrated and productive members of the EU.
Our team includes communication experts, researchers in social sciences, and organisation that specialise in working with marginalised youth.

Description of the case

Domain

eInclusion

Topic

ICT and Marginalised youth

Sector

Education, Science and Research | Employment | Social Services

Start date - End date

September 2008 (Ongoing)

Date operational

January 2009

Target Users

Young people at risk of marginalisation

Target Users Description

ComeIn will develop a generic platform which could potentially and with minimal costs, be applied to marginalised young people of different backgrounds and interest areas. To ensure the platform developed is of use to marginalised young people ComeIn will thoroughly research their needs. Groups of MYP will be involved in all aspects of the research and the specification as specified in the WPs. Access to these groups will be assured by the track record of partners in the ComeIn project, eg I-TRUST.

Scope

International

Status

Research

Language(s)

English

Policy Context and Legal Framework

Match with the FP7 ICT Objectives
This objective is an excellent match with 7th ICT Challenge: ICT for Independent Living and
Inclusion, specifically with outcome (b), as it delivers a highly accessible and innovative ICT
solution combined with an inclusive approach, which will enable marginalised youth to enjoy
the benefits of a shared online community, tailored to facilitate their social inclusion.
224369 (ComeIn) Annex 1 Version 12 of 29/07/2008 10/129
Approved by EC on 08/08/2008
This solution, a mobile networked media platform, will be realised through the most
abundant device used by marginalised youth in Europe â€“ Mobile phones. Using innovative
real-time integrated communication video solutions, this project will develop a networked
media platform that will seamlessly deliver interactive media content specifically aimed at
marginalised youth. As mobile phones are considered status symbols they play a part in the
acceptance of the solution within the target sector.

Project Size and Implementation

Type of initiative

IT infrastructures and products

Overall Implementation approach

Partnerships between administration and/or private sector and/or non-profit sector

Technology choice

Proprietary technology

Funding source

Public funding EU

Project size

Implementation: €1,000,000-5,000,000

Implementation and Management Approach

Each of the project objectives if addressed by a corresponding WP. Operations shall begin with a careful socio-scientific research & marginalised youth needs (WP2), which will provide the consecutive Work packages with an understanding of marginalised youth profiles. The technological
design and development of a mobile platform infrastructure (WP5), and the research into the community and inclusive aspects of the system, which is divided into 2 stages of exploratory research towards translating the concept from the internet to the mobile medium (WP3), and the research into the generation of an online inclusive community. The 2 dimensions of technological design and inclusive aspects will be integrated together in WP6 . WP7 will in turn provide a careful analysis, assessment and evaluation of the compatibility of the developed solution to the needs of various profiles of marginalised young people. WP8, which signifies the last stage of the project will provide recommendation for the future implementation of the platform and will identify and present a future roadmap of areas to be studied with regards to marginalised youth and the proposed platform. Activities regarding Project management (WP1) and Dissemination and exploitation (WP9) will take place throughout the entire duration of the project.

Technology solution

VideoCellsâ€™ unique Telco-Grade VDOClusterTM platform allows MNOs to offer end users new
multimedia, video & audio services. The platformâ€™s services open the video market to all
2.5G networks, enlarging the available video-based customer base.
The mobile networked media platform will be based on V-CELLS VDOClusterTM technology
which is exceptionally versatile and flexible, allowing marketing managers to â€œfree their
imaginationâ€ and easily create and manage new services for their customers, including novel
video services, with a fast time to market and within an affordable budget.
It can be seen that with V-CELLS technology the proposal answers one of the major
challenges facing mobile content and specifically video mobile content in a 5-10 years horizon.

Impact, innovation and results

Impact

ComeIn Project expects to impact at different levels:
Increase the degree of trust of young people in EU and motivate them to participate in the political processes due to their social inclusion.
Reduction of the unemployment rate of young people offering access to job oportunities without temporal and spatial limitation
Promote the European global leadership in inclusive ICT
Open new market niche with specialised accessible ICT products and services
Establish guidelines for research on ICT and social inclusion
Reduction of the digital divide creating and accessible platform

Lessons learnt

ComeIn Project expects to impact at different levels:
Increase the degree of trust of young people in EU and motivate them to
participate in the political processes due to their social inclusion.
Reduction of the unemployment rate of young people offering access to
job oportunities without temporal and spatial limitation
Promote the European global leadership in inclusive ICT
Open new market niche with specialised accessible ICT products and
services
Establish guidelines for research on ICT and social inclusion
Reduction of the digital divide creating and accessible platform

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