We aim to create e-volunteerism opportunities for young people with special needs throughout Europe and Armenia by introducing citizen engagement CityBugs social platform.
Back in 2012 upon launching CityBugs we had no idea that by putting in place a simple then website, we would get to the point that a new ideology and ecosystem will be introduced for infrastructure building through civic participation. CityBugs is unique since it has immediate impact on 3 levels: 1) the community 2) the government and 3) the youth. Not a single society is perfect, there are numerous gaps in any set up be it highly democratic, transitional or a fragile.
We think that Europe and Armenia have similarities also in how to address needs of young people with special needs. Despite existing opportunities we are able to introduce a new model of collaboration and participation of youngsters who look for opportunities on personal, professional and societal levels at once.
Our objective is to ensure participation and activism for any member of society despite their physical conditions. In a year any e-volunteer with special needs will be more active member of the society by introducing to the job market gained skills & knowledge on digital technologies and civic education. Alongside with enhanced personal skills, we will support young people with special needs to believe in their own capacities, have a proof of personal achievements and most importantly be able to tell the society that they are the ones to be thanked for improved infrastructures in the city, bettered lifestyle & living standards, increased trust level toward the government etc.
At least 30 young people with special needs will receive brief e-skills building on: 1) e-volunteerism & civic education 2) web site maintenance, crowd-funding, social media & information analysis, content management etc. In parallel with brief sessions the trainees will immediately apply their knowledge on functioning CityBugs platform, thus becoming e-volunteers. Among other daily tasks (reporting, design, website backend basic maintenance), e-volunteers will fully manage the solution of 1 "bug" per month through crowd-funding. In order to recognize and reward the added value and input of e-volunteers, we will introduce the “e-volunteerism gamification” model (e-volunteers gain points on a monthly basis & receive rewards based on achievements).
Given the aim and geography we are open for collaboration from European partners.