Research shows that Millennials and Gen Z often lack the digital literacy skills needed to navigate the online space safely and effectively. 75% of young people surveyed* in the UK had come across fake or misleading news, but only 2% felt confident in their ability to spot fake or misleading news.
*Study by UK’s National Literacy Trust, 2020
Michael Omoniyi, a journalist by profession, founded the Common Sense Network to respond to media polarisation and manipulation and the existence of different echo chambers among young people.
“Young people live in an increasingly digital world and our workshops empower them to navigate it safely and to contribute positively online.”
Michael Omoniyi
The Common Sense Network empowers and educates 18-34 year olds in the UK to become better digital citizens. They conduct workshops, online training, university tours and tackle topics such as fake news, emotional manipulation and polarisation. Young people also have access to the Common Sense Network’s extensive online editorial and news content.
The Common Sense Network is among nineteen other organisations that are currently enrolled on the Youth Ventures Programme (YVP). Through the YVP, QCT provides youth-led organisations with flexible funding, practical tools and technical support, and access to a global network of young leaders for 2+ years.
With QCT’s support since March 2022 The Common Sense Network has been able to:
To launch their “Be Digital Citizens” programme, which trained over 200 young people in digital skills in 3 schools.
70% of the people trained have indicated that they developed new skills as a result of the workshop
Hire an operations executive to support the development and delivery of workshops and engagement with schools.
“QCT’s support has really helped me feel more confident about approaching more organisations about the work we do. It makes me feel like I’m doing important work and other organisations can follow in the footsteps of QCT in helping us reach more young people.”
Michael Omoniyi
Future work supported by QCT in 2023:
CSN’s goal is to reach more young people and to train other young people to deliver their own workshops (train the trainer model).
Click below to watch CSN’s video.
