Currently, we live in the Information and Knowledge Society (Castells, 2000, 2011) that demands, a greater literacy of its citizens and allows for personal and professional development (Cantabrana, Minguell & Tedesco, 2015). Education and therefore, literacy must include not only reading, writing and calculus, but also the inclusion of digital and socio-civic skills. Nowadays, citizens use digital technologies to better develop themselves in civic participation (Culver and Jacobson, 2012), as corroborated with the social movements aided by digital social networks. However, findings show that youth do not feel included in the formal and traditional frames of participation i.e. affiliation to an institution a political party and so on, (Benedicto, 2016) and strive to broaden the concept, incorporating new means of communication (LSE Entreprise, 2013). Wireless digital technologies and Internet social networks have had a fundamental role when it comes to disseminating images and messages, creating platforms for dialogue; In addition, to convening and coordinating participatory and transformative actions of society (Buckingham & Rodríguez, 2013; Castells, 2012). In short, the use and dissemination of information and communication technologies favour democratization and can increase civic participation and the autonomy of a civic society, paving the way for democracy. To be able to achieve this, educational institutions and universities, as well as, non-formal settings such as youth centres and associations, should provide access to digital technologies and train (or alphabetize) young people as educated, responsible and critical citizens and show that knowledge is a necessary condition for the full development of democracy. Digital citizenship has become a priority for formal, non-formal and informal education institutions, which consider the incorporation of ICT as a teaching and learning strategy for students to live and work in the 21st century (Ribble, Bailey & Ross, 2004; Culver & Jacobson, 2012). Taking this into account, it is necessary to understand not only the current state of youth and the development of digital and socio-civic competences and how they influence youth civic participation, but also what educational practises and settings favour said development. This project seeks to empower citizens, especially youth, in terms of participation, solidarity, cooperative work and action for the benefit of others and the educational processes constitute an important part in the development of the necessary multiliteracies (Cope & Kalantzis, 2009, UNESCO, 2011; 2016) and competences to change the existing exclusion, inequality and social injustice. Finally, the expected outcomes of the study intend to show the differences in formal and non-formal educational settings and propose the curricular basis for developing Digital Citizenship Education for educators, with the desire or contributing to both digital and civic literacy fields. 

The research follows both quantitive and qualitative methodology. The first study, intends to develop and validate an online questionnaire measuring specific dimensions of digital and socio-civic competence (UNESCO, 2006; European Commission, 2011; Ferrari, 2013; Ang, 2016) in order to, afterwards, conduct a statistical correlation study, complemented with in-depth interviews and focus groups to research how these skills influence each other and the importance that they present to foster civic participation. Finally, the third study intends to develop an action-based research to develop pedagogical aspects and curricular content for formal and non-formal educational settings.

The research findings aim to present corroborating data on the theoretical constructs of digital and socio-civic as well as providing further evidence towards developing 21st centaury skills (van Laar et al., 2017) and the current state of youth in regards to their development. In addition, to comparing and contrasting them in different European countries. Furthermore, the findings may also indicate relevant information on digital habits and trends for fostering civic participation amongst youth, in order to recommend new forms of participation. Finally, the expected outcomes of the study intend to show the differences in formal and non-formal educational settings and propose the curricular basis for developing Digital Citizenship Education for educators, with the desire or contributing to both digital and civic literacy fields.

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