"The reBIRTH on the internet project (REviver na Rede) is an initiative to support online social networks to strengthen new forms of active job search and promote employability, social integration, socialization, and social and digital inclusion in the Madeira Region, Portugal.

The aim is to help unemployed adults to take advantage of social networks (e.g. Facebook) to improve their employability. These global social instruments can respond to these needs and contribute to the development of local communities. Currently, the various online spaces involve more than 50,000 people, in a region with less than 255,000 inhabitants.

In view of the various implications of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), from the social level of individuals to their professional and economic situation, the project has mobilized a number of initiatives to help the relief of social isolation, improve the good use of social networks, strengthen media literacy and digital skills, and promote job search through social networks.

These initiatives have a strong pedagogical, social and solidarity basis, relying on voluntary work, in a spirit of social entrepreneurship."

http://revivernarede.blogspot.pt

• Madeira , Portugal

• The unemployed

"After the project was applied in the Region of Madeira, it was clear that it could be applied to other (inter)national realities.

In the replication of our model, the Website is able to function as an integrating platform for general content, complemented by the Facebook page to promote them. As for the Facebook Group it can be a tool to promote interaction with the target audience, adding other specific content to the previous content, already made available. This implies the existence of partnerships (individual or institutional), responsible for the maintenance of the group and its moderation, i.e. the replication of the project must be carried out in partnership with other institutions of social solidarity or with an interest in employability, in the communities in which they wish to apply it. These will be responsible for the promotion of the group on Facebook, according to pre-established rules. Hence, our project can be replicated to other (inter)national realities, enhancing the power of ICT as a promoter of global and community development at a local scale."

"This is a social and solidarity project, which provides for a voluntary work of the community in a social entrepreneurship basis. We have developed it with free and license-free web technologies, allowing to reduce financial costs and overcoming technical constraints.

The feasibility strategy envisaged collaboration with key partners, such as recruitment companies and large employers through the provision of project funding, sponsorships and donations.

We also developed a support service for the release of recruitment ads, with its dissemination and management in social networks, especially on Facebook, including the control of the comments made in shares. It is an innovative service, different from other initiatives. The positive reaction to the service has enabled to recognize its achievement and has been contributing to the sustainability of the project.

So far, we have managed to obtain the necessary means to guarantee its sustainability and to reach the main goals we are aiming at, i.e. strengthen new forms of active job search and promote employability, social integration, socialization, and social and digital inclusion, in alignment with the Portuguese national strategy for digital skills, Portugal INCoDe.2030, and the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, namely through SDG 4, 5, 8, 10 and 17."

Although our project privileges Facebook as a practical field of work, including for applied research studies, when we started to address the negative effects caused by the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) we decided to expand the presence to other social networks, such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.