From October 23 to 26, 2019, a seminar was held in Milan on the topic "A life-cycle approach to work: dealing with the challenge of long-term youth unemployment through the development of skills, life-long learning and cross-generational fairness – technology and work: challenges, employment possibilities and problems on the job market for young people caught between cyber bullying and cyber security”, organized by FLC (Fondazione Luigi Clerici), with the support of EZA and the European Union.
On October 23, Dr Paolo Cesana (Director of FLC) presented the seminar and illustrated why the FLC dealt with the topic. Also comments of the participants were collected.
Paolo Cesana then introduced the topic "Technology and Work: Challenges, Employment Opportunities and Problems in the Labour Market for Young People Between Cyberbullying and Cyber Security".
He also gave an overview of the basic topics to be covered during the seminar, i.e. how the new technologies influence the work processes in connection with cyberbullying and cyber security, and which pedagogical advantages can be indicated as guiding principles for the use of digital technologies.
Giuseppe Scaratti, professor of occupational psychology at the Catholic University Sacro Cuore in Milan, explained in his article entitled "Strengthening competencies for sustainable work planning" the historical-economic context in which we find ourselves. This changes the skills requirements by young people who are approaching the world of work. In fact, the new digital workers must invest above all in the so-called transversal skills, which include problem-solving skills, technological skills, communication and cooperation skills, the ability to cultivate interpersonal relationships, flexibility, creativity and soft skills. In view of these significant changes, Professor Scaratti considers the change between school and work (dual system) to be fundamental and refers to the Shape Work project, which emerged from the partnership between the FLC and JPMorgan and focused on these questions and in which the young people involved in the project achieved brilliant results.
Professor Scaratti then picked up on the subject of bullying and cyberbullying and gave a definition and advice on how to deal with this phenomenon.
Many questions from participants in the subsequent discussion related in particular to the transversal skills, which were of great interest due to their current relevance in the world of work.
Dr Maura Frusone from the Italian Association for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) - and head of SMB at Kaspersky Italy, addressed these two topics in her speech entitled "Cyberbullying & Cyber Security" and attached great importance to the concept of awareness.
A few questions from those present followed, which in particular sparked great interest in the awareness campaigns proposed by the company and the highlighted topic of awareness, since it is not always clear how fundamental this is in the technological area.
After the intervention proposed by the Anitec-Assinform Association, the director general of the Carolina Foundation, Ivano Zoppi, was introduced.
Dr. Zoppi spoke about "Cyberbullying: Surfing beyond” and explained how important it is to make the web a safer place for children and young people. Martina Colasante - Public Policy Analyst from Google Italy for Greece & Italy, pointed out that young people spend most of their day online and paradoxically have little digital skills, which leads them to underestimate the risks and consequences of their online behaviour.
A few questions from those present followed, which in particular showed great interest in the awareness campaigns proposed by companies and the highlighted topic of awareness, since it is not always clear how fundamental this is in the technological area.
A round table, moderated by Anna Lettig, European consultant at the FLC, dealt with the comparison of European models: topics from Bulgaria, Ireland and Spain were dealt with in the seminar.
Roberta Sciannamea, PhD student in innovation sociology at the University of Milan-Bicocca, spoke about "Fake News in an information society" and described in particular the origin of Fake News and their distribution over the Internet. She discussed the risks they pose and the methods that should be used to protect against them.
Nicola Lombardelli dealt with "Good Practices in the e-Learning System", and the project "Oramiformo" (I am now training), which essentially consists of an e-learning platform for trainers or speakers, which is based on the partnership between the FLC and other organizations and focuses on the topics of bullying and cyberbullying.
Information materials, online activities, podcasts, self-assessment tests and in particular material in creative language developed by the young participants are provided on this platform.
Ongoing studies, analysis and research on the phenomenon, the involvement of law enforcement and legislation should all be monitored and the findings used in social dialogue. Digital reality shapes the lives of most young people at school and they often experience the dark side of this reality. Therefore, especially in the transition from school to vocational training and entry into professional life, awareness of the dangers posed by cyberbullying must be increased for all those involved and suitable preventive measures must be provided.