CAIR 4 Youth

Europe and the UK has a strong position in the creative industries, which have been one of the fastest-growing parts of the economy and one of the fastest-growing sources of employment in recent years. The UK also has one of the highest shares of the workforce in Europe employed in the creative industries. The project CAIR 4 YOUTH aims to support professionals in the youth sector in acquiring and developing creative sector skills in working with Coding, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. There will be a focus on youth workers’ skills development in fun and game-inspired, non-formal educational methods in these areas.

The youth population is a particularly vulnerable group with regard to emerging technologies. Very little has been done to empower young people to critically engage the discourse surrounding the next generation of technologies that have a marked potential to shape their lives for better or for worse. Questions involve the intersection between artificial intelligence (AI) and youth (ages 13-30), in the context of domains such as leisure, education, health and well-being, and the future of work. The main objective of the project is to encourage various stakeholders — including policymakers, youth workers, and parents and caregivers — to consider how we can empower young people to meaningfully interact with AI-based technologies to promote and bolster learning, creative expression, and well-being, while also addressing key challenges and concerns. The objective is skills development for youth workers and subsequently up-skilling young people through non-formal methods.