Social and e-inclusion

Our experience:

    MENON is committed to working towards the improvement of social inclusion and cohesion in Europe and worldwide. We focus in particular on providing opportunities for the harnessing and utilization of the creative potential of people in the innovation process. This involves creating conditions for wider and more effective entrepreneurship, and contributing to the development of social capital. We are interested in how new technologies like social networking and other Web 2.0 applications can contribute to social inclusion - for example through reinforcing community-based support networks, increasing participation in decision-making, and promoting active citizenship. MENON experience in the field ranges from supporting digital literacy (eSTART project), to inter-generational lifelong learning (EAGLE project), to analysing the impact of factors like migration, linguistic diversity, sport and culture on social structures and societal change.

    Our vision:

      The opportunities for promoting an inclusive knowledge society can therefore be summarized as:
    • Providing greater access to more consumers for a wider diversity of consumer products, services and choices
    • Supporting a more effective role for consumers in the development of new products and services, and greater control over quality, utility and relevance
    • Providing opportunities for the harnessing and utilization of the creative potential of people in the innovation process, and creating conditions for wider and more effective entrepreneurship
    • Contributing to the development of social capital, for example through the expansion of social-networking via Web 3.0 into community-based support networks
    • Increasing participation in decision-making, and thereby supporting increased motivation to participate in democratic processes and a more ‘participative culture’

      • Our projects in the area:

      • eSTART - Digital Literacy Network
      • eInclusion Study - Status of e-Inclusion measurement, analysis and approaches for improvement
      • EAGLE - European Approaches to Inter-Generational Lifelong Learning
      • VALUE SCOUT - observing how sport and culture can have an impact on society