UseITsmartly (2013-2018)

Peer-to-peer education for youths on smart use of Information and Communication Technologies

'UseITsmartly' is a project aimed at capacity building towards behavioural changes in the way youths use technology. Main questions are:

• How can youth use technologies more energy-efficient?
• How can we take diversities between young people e.g. on the basis of gender, cultural background, IT use practices and environmental awareness into account?

The goal of this project is to communicate with and through youths about creative new concepts of smart IT (Information Technology, e.g. tablets, smartphones, computers) use. In this project, a major focus is on diversities of youth and taking those diversities into account in developing smart solutions.

Project members do research and develop and implement IT-peer education in all partner countries of this project: Denmark, Norway, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. Through innovative prototypes and solutions of energy-efficient technologies we will be able to visualise aspects of sustainable energy consumption. The output of ‘useITsmartly’ is a toolbox for relevant stakeholders in the area of energy behaviour changing programmes focusing on green IT and a diversity of young people.

Project leader: Els Rommes

Publication

Haunstrup, T. & Rommes, E. (2019) Don’t blame the youth: The social-institutional and material embeddedness of young people’s energy-intensive use of information and communication technology. Energy Research & Social Science, 49, p.82-90.

This project is funded by the Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE) Programme  of the European Commission.