Why education is the pathway to digital transformation
Are you a cultural educator? Then be sure to read on! For you might well be the prime link to the audience of the future. That gives you a pivotal role in the digital transformation of the entire organisation.
The audience of the future: you’re already in touch with them!
Did you ever think about it this way? That you, as an educator, are already in touch with the audience of the future? You are probably much more familiar with the life world of the future cultural audience than any of your colleagues. And, as every educator knows: young people who are triggered by culture during their school years are more likely to seek out culture as adults. How do you awaken a life-long interest in culture? And how do you prepare the rest of your organisation for this digitally savvy target group?
Cultural educators are often the first connection to young audiences.
The digital approach starts with you
As an expert on the audience of the future, you might well be the ideal person to stimulate digital transformation within your organisation. You can help your organisation advance with your knowledge about this target group.
How to get you organisation moving? 3 tips to help you out:
Show how young people’s values are reflected in your programme
Get colleagues involved, such as artistic makers, curators, programmers or marketers. This way they can get to know and learn to serve the target group, too. Introduce your colleagues to the audience of the future by inviting classes to your organisation. This way your colleagues can see how this new generation interacts with culture and how they deal with digital resources. This is valuable information that your organisation can incorporate in their offer, and at the same provides a starting point for elaborating your digital strategy.
Incorporate elements they recognize from digital worlds in your organisation’s building
Have you noticed that your pupils invariably enter the building with their smartphone in hand? Then involve your colleagues in asking: how can we draw their attention to what we offer? Perhaps you can show yourself in the online worlds they inhabit, or use digital means to offer them further context and background information. Some museums present their collections through games; theatres use global tech platforms to stream theatre performances; and the #BookTok recommendation site on TikTok encourages new and more readers. Consider enlisting the support of IT, gaming or digitisation professionals.
Utilise data
Do you offer digital products or do you make use of online platforms, services or materials? Chances are that you are collecting user data at the same time. You can use these data to better understand your target group, but also to improve your offer or your online findability, and thereby to reach a larger audience. For this you could work with a marketing or communication specialist.
Conclusion
Do it together! Work with colleagues of other departments to explore your digital options and resources, analyse the data and collectively determine your digital strategy. This way you can stimulate the digital mindset throughout the organisation. A successful integral approach to your digital strategy will moreover bind together the different skills and expertise present within the organisation. After all, an integral approach to digital strategy depends on the various specialists being able to link up, instead of operating on their own. The exchange with other organisations and disciplines will consolidate your digital strategy long term.
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New audiences require different organisations
The knowledge you contribute about the audience of the future is likely to raise questions. Discussing these questions within your organisation will help keep everyone on board and keep the organisation flexible.
Here are sme questions to probe with your colleagues:
- What societal developments do we see reflected in the audience of the future? Consider for instance the increasing digitisation throughout society and how you can respond to this as organisation.
- How do you respond to major themes such as inclusiveness and sustainability?
These themes are becoming increasingly important in society and young people often feel strongly about them. Does your organisational culture meet the new audience’s expectations? Young people today are not just tomorrow’s audience, but also tomorrow’s staff.
- Are you sufficiently familiar with the digital technologies that the current and next generations are growing up with? As a cultural educator, you are aware of present-day issues and have some knowledge of the apps, platforms and devices used by young people. How much do you know about the underlying technologies, about relevant ethics, how these are developing, and what makes certain platforms or forms of expression so successful? By discussing these matters in depth with your colleagues, you will be better placed to determine which technologies you could adopt and how your target group would respond to that.
Our pro tip? Create support. Talk to each other and share your experiences.
How to convert your plans into action
To get the digital transformation on the road, you need support within the organisation. Talking to your colleagues and managers is one way of building support. What will it require for your organisation to be future-ready? How will digital transformation contribute to this? Describe the obstacles you encounter and what you feel you need to overcome them. For example a mandate, budget and time to invest in a digital strategy or perhaps in further skills training for yourself and/or your colleagues.
And, conversely: make sure to share your own experiences, knowledge and know-how with colleagues both within and outside your organisation. Are you currently developing facilities that others could make use of as well.
