Social Innovation and Digital Rights   

The main challenge for this ENoLL Working Group is to: 

1. Demonstrate the social innovation impact of Living Labs 

2. Promote collaborative working and investment in Living Labs

3. Collectively advocate for digital rights for all citizens 

Europe is in the middle of a social crisis with many regions facing housing shortages, increasing demand for social care and health services, ageing population, environmental crisis, skills, jobs and education deficits. Digital technologies and the so called democratisation of the internet has not produced the expected benefits for all of society. There is a danger of increasing social inequality through digital exclusion, and technology solutions designed by and for the benefit of an unrepresentative section of society.  This ENoLL Working Group is exploring how social innovation through Living Labs can help to address societal challenges through concrete actions and by providing access for wider society and communities to social innovation ecosystems. 

This Working Group focusses on Living Labs role in supporting the development of social innovation at grass roots and embedding long term systemic change. Thus enabling more and diverse citizens to participate. By collaborating and sharing knowledge Living Labs will effectively demonstrate their collective impact at local, regional and global levels. 

In addition to Living Labs, we will engage with different European networks in the social innovation community (SIC), including Digital Social Innovation, All Digital and others that are trying to orient their research & innovation programmes to solve social issues. This Working Group is focused on facilitating the collaboration of all these networks at grassroots and regionally, generating better understanding of the actions required from the local to the European and global level.