Credit: Œuvre Nationale de Secours Grande-Duchesse Charlotte

The Œuvre Nationale de Secours Grande-Duchesse Charlotte announced it has launched a new call for projects “Digital Detox Spaces”, aiming to encourage the creation of common spaces without screens in places frequented by young people aged twelve to eighteen.

After discussions between the Œuvre and experts in the field of “children and young people facing information and communication technologies (ICT)”, the Youth Committee of the Œuvre noted that dependence on the internet and social networks, respectively the impact of the internet and influencers on young people constitutes a real problem.

The Œuvre concluded that there is a need to create attractive common areas without screens in places that can be regularly frequented by young people aged twelve to eighteen, such as secondary schools and youth centres.

According to experts, young people spend a lot, perhaps too much of their free time on their smartphones and on social networks, which leads to a lack of direct social contacts and a drastic reduction in exchanges and common activities between peers. While many young people are aware of this phenomenon, they cannot necessarily reduce ICT consumption.

The “Digital Detox Spaces” call for projects therefore aims to encourage the creation of dedicated spaces in which alternative activities will be offered and where ICT use will be prohibited, both in formal education structures and in non-formal education structures. The project aims for interaction between young people to be re-stimulated in places they frequent, which, according to the Œuvre, should have a positive impact on their cognitive skills, their emotional stability and their physical well-being.

By providing a total of €120,000 for the “Digital Detox Spaces” call for projects, the Œuvre aims to support 24 projects up to a maximum of €5,000 each.

Submitted projects must fall into two of these four thematic fields:

  • creative projects;
  • fun projects;
  • sustainable development projects;
  • participatory projects.

Future “Digital Detox Spaces” must be accessible to all people who use these structures.

The Œuvre encourages adolescents and young adults between twelve and eighteen years old and their supervisors to develop and submit projects.

Funding requests must be submitted by formal education structures (secondary schools) or by non-formal education structures (youth centres, etc.). Applications can be submitted from Wednesday 24 January to Friday 1 March 2024.