AVISO: This course will be left open as an open educational resource but the forum will be blocked since the course is not live and there is no tutoring support.
In addition, it is not possible to obtain an official certificate as the collaborative and reflective activities will be closed and therefore cannot be assessed, but you can access all the material and self-assessment exercises, and get a free badge.
Civics 4.0: active citizenship and participation in the digital age (3ed. 2023) UNED

Thematic area:
Civic education. Are you interested in the possibility of using civic technology as a tool for civic engagement? Explore the objectives and topics of this MOOC:
Learning outcomes:
- Understand active digital citizenship and civic engagement;
- Know what skills you need to master and what civic-tech tools you can use to safely inhabit digital space as an activist;
- Be able to monitor policy and use civic-tech for accountability and transparency;
- Be able to connect with people in the community and identify civic-tech tools for advocacy and campaigning;
- Increase your capacity to participate effectively and responsibly in your community by relying on citizen engagement platforms that connect citizens to decision makers;
- Put in practice what you have learnt through the course for the design of a digital citizenship project at the micro-level.
As additional motivation we invited inspiring guests who stand as faces of some of the most impactful civic-tech initiatives at European and national level: Vouliwatch in Greece, Danes je nov dan with the Consult platform in Slovenia, and Minority Safe Pack, European Citizen Initiative.
Modules
- Module 1. Introduction to active digital citizenship: what it is and why it matters
- Module 2. Key basic skills for digital civic participation
- Module 3. Monitoring public policy that affects you
- Module 4. Connecting and engaging for social impact
- Module 5. Foster local participation: smart communities and digital participation
- Module 6. Wrap up and get ready for action
Targeted learners and requirements
The MOOC is intended for anyone, especially students from diverse backgrounds, who are interested in digital civic education and digital participation. There is no entry requirement, as the course starts assuming no prior knowledge. All that is required is an interest in the subject matter and a B1 level of English, as the course is in English. However, reading materials are also translated into Spanish.Location and duration
The course is delivered entirely online, and permanently open, so it can be done at your own pace.Activities and assessment
The course content is based on videos, readings and activities such as self-evaluation tests, forum discussions and collaborative tasks.Teaching team
Coordinators
- Timothy Read
- Elena Bárcena Madera
- Beatriz Sedano Cuevas
Teaching Team
- Ivana Stanojev (Knowledge Innovation Centre-KIC, Malta) Content coordinator.
- María Dolores Castrillo de Larreta-Azelain (UNED)
- Elena Martín Monje (UNED)
- Ana Ibáñez (UNED)
- Jorge Arús Hita (UCM)
- Antonio Pareja Lora (UCM)
- Cristina Stefanelli (UNIMED, Italy).
- Fabio Nascimbeni(UNIMED, Italy)
- Anthony Camillieri (Knowledge Innovation Centre-KIC, Malta).
- Flavio Grazian (European Citizen Action Service-ECAS, Belgium)
- Elisa Lironi (European Citizen Action Service-ECAS, Belgium)
- Romana Zajec (APIS Institute, Slovenia).
- Teresa Tomašević (Malmo University, Sweden).
- Lars Lindhagen (Malmo University, Sweden).
This course has been developed as part of an Erasmus+ project called Nexus:https://nexus4civics.eu
