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Setting up your space: Utilities and belongings
Setting up your space: Utilities and belongings
Sobre
Once you've found your living space, making it comfortable and functional involves setting up essential utilities and taking care of your belongings. This activity will guide you through understanding gas, water, electricity, internet, and the importance of your household contents.
The Kwikstart app offers helpful videos related to these topics. Watch the video that covers setting up utilities and understanding your belongings.
By completing this activity, you will
This activity focuses on practical life skills related to setting up and managing a household, where digital resources play a significant role in obtaining information and managing services.
- Information and data literacy with specifically Browse, searching and filtering data, information and digital content; Evaluating data, information and digital content; and Managing data, information and digital content. This area is once again fundamental, as it revolves around finding and understanding complex information about contracts, services, and personal belongings.
- Digital problem solving with specifically solving technical problems and identifying digital competence gaps. Setting up utilities and protecting belongings involves various practical problems.
- Arranging utilities often involves digital communication with service providers. So communication and collaboration will be worked on.
- Safety, because protecting household contents touches upon aspects of safety. Specifically protecting devices, personal data and privacy.
Get inspired
Moving into a new place requires more than just unpacking. Connecting to essential utilities like gas, water, and electricity, as well as arranging internet access, are important first steps. Understanding your responsibilities regarding these services and being aware of your belongings are key aspects of independent living across Europe.
Utilities
Imagine you need things in your house to live comfortably, like lights, hot water for a shower, and maybe internet to play games or watch videos.
Utility companies are the businesses that provide these useful things. Think of:
- Electricity: for the lights, the telly (TV), your computer.
- Water: for drinking, washing, cooking.
- Gas: for heating or cooking (not everywhere anymore).
- Sometimes also internet and phone lines.
They're called utilities because they provide things that are useful and important for our daily lives. Without these, it would be much harder to live comfortably.
Household Contents
Imagine you have a place to live. The place itself is like an empty box. The household contents are all the things you put inside that box to make it liveable and cosy. Think of:
- The sofa and chairs you sit on.
- The table you eat at or do your homework on.
- Your bed to sleep in.The clothes in your wardrobe.
- The books and games you have.
- The plates, cutlery (knives, forks, spoons) and pans in the kitchen.
Basically, the household contents are everything loose inside your house that you could take with you if you moved (except the walls and the floor, of course!). They are the things that are contained within your household. Sometimes people just say furniture for the bigger items.
Take action: activities for different roles
Explore the role-specific badges below to access activities designed to enhance your understanding and support young people in setting up their utilities and managing their belongings.
Claim open badge recognition
Upon completing the activities, participants can claim digital badges recognizing their competence in:
- Digital competences during understanding essential utilities and household contents (Connected Dweller).
- Guiding young people in digital information and searching literacy development during setting up their living spaces (Utilities & Contents Supporter).
- Strategically addressing the needs of young people regarding developing digital competences when learning about essential utilities and belongings (Strategic Living Enabler).
Who created this resource
Awero, Lithuania (Project Lead)
Breakthrough Foundation, Netherlands
Curaçao Innovation & Technology Institute (CITI)
TiPovej! Zavod - Institute for Creative Society, Slovenia
Next steps
Explore other resources related to setting up a new home. Consider how these practical aspects contribute to a young person's sense of security and well-being.
Resources
Get activity badge
Badge for Youth Workers: Utilities & Contents Supporter Get this badge
Awarded for understanding the process young people go through when setting up utilities and recognizing the importance of their belongings. This badge recognizes your ability to support young people in these practical aspects of moving.
Skills and experiences gained
This badge aligns with the Digital Competence Framework for Youth Workers and supports the development of:
- Providing information and guidance using digital tools
- Creating reliable knowledge through digital means
- Searching, evaluating and communicating information
- Connecting young people with relevant support systems
Tarefas
Task no.1
Evidence verified by: one activity organiser
Complete the following tasks to earn the Utilities & Contents Supporter badge.
Activity
- Review & Reflect: Watch the "Wonen" video in the Kwikstart app. Consider the information presented and the potential difficulties young people might encounter when setting up utilities and understanding their responsibilities.
- Guiding Questions: Imagine a young person asks you for advice on setting up their gas and electricity. Based on the video, what are two key questions you would advise them to consider or ask potential providers?
- Importance of personal belongings: How would you explain the concept of "personal belongings" to a young person and why it's important for them to be aware of what they own when moving?
Claim the badge
Task: Share your insights on guiding young people with utilities and belongings. Evidence: Submit a short written reflection outlining the two guiding questions and your explanation of "personal belongings."
Organizadores
Digital Youth Work Resource Hub
A Badgecraft roda uma infra-estrutura web para Cidades e Regiões de Aprendizagem. O consórcio Europeu desenvolve esta plataforma com o co-financiamento do programa da União Europeia Erasmus+
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