The study and research, Culture et la inégalités numériques: Usages chez les jeunes au Québec, is being conducted by Amina Yagoubi, PhD in sociology, with the support of the MITACS Acceleration program and Professor Collin Simon, Department of Language Didactics, and Canada Research Chair on Sociocultural Issues of the Digital in Education.
In an ever-changing environment and the fast evolution of Information and Communication Technologies (ITC), new needs are emerging (Yagoubi, Tremblay, 2017), including life-long learning, the development of solid digital literacy skills, etc. The digital divide among the youth is a growing phenomenon raising important questions about social cohesion (UNESCO, 2003). This is why it is important to look at the technological difficulties faced by young boys and girls and those in more vulnerable situations so they can acquire a sustainable digital culture.
In this regard, the Digital Strategy – Quebec’s Digital Economy Action Plan (2016- 2021) of the Ministère de l’économie, de la science et de l’innovation (MESI) aims to achieve “digital excellence” (PAEN, 2016), while preventing the digital divide from widening further.
The Youth QC 2030 project, led by Montreal Digital Spring, is an opportunity to collect and analyze qualitative information from young people and a larger ecosystem of organizations in the fields of digital creativity, youth education, and innovations (social and technological) in 6 regions in Quebec. This enables research to investigate experiential worlds of learning and knowledge transfer in order to identify possible solutions to this problem and respond to the values of an inclusive society.