Digital technology starts with the screen of our television and extends to smartwatches, smartphones, and with the increasing digitization of administrative procedures, citizens must now know how to use these tools, and use them well.
“And we have people who have never touched a computer in their lives,” explains Catherine Charlot, “because they are elderly, because they have just arrived in France and did not have access to this in their country, or because they are people with cognitive difficulties.”
These are individuals who have everything to learn, which is why the Marie et Alphonse association has chosen to take a playful approach to help these audiences enter the digital world more easily and comfortably. For example, they have a fablab, a place where people can tinker, where digital machines and traditional machines coexist. People come to create, test, and experiment, enjoying the process together.
A program is specifically dedicated to women, allowing them to learn in a safe environment, where they can confidently admit they don’t know something. “We invoke creative levers,” explains Catherine Charlot. “We mix linocut and digital, screen printing and digital, sewing and digital. We have a digital embroidery machine, a vinyl cutter, we can print on fabrics. We also work on creation and sculpture, focusing on reuse. We recover textiles that are meant to be thrown away.”
Another aspect of media education is also addressed, particularly with young people, focusing on image creation, in collaboration with a journalist. In the workshops, they are invited to create reports or films using their smartphones and free editing software, enabling them to shoot and edit without financial means. “This allows them, through creation, to better understand the digital world.”
The workshops provide numerous benefits. For women, in addition to regaining confidence, they acquire additional skills as part of their professional reintegration journey; and for young people, who often drop out, it rekindles curiosity and desire, fosters community and collaboration, and sometimes serves as a springboard towards a professional project.
“If we had worked in sewing, I think the project could have been almost similar,” jokes Catherine Charlot. “What we love is really creating connections with these audiences, also enabling crossovers with creators, in collaboration with other associations. So we bring a lot of people together, and that’s really great.”
