Facebook and Venice join hands in helping local SMEs get into the digital age

An initiative called ‘Made OnLife – in Venice’ will provide free video courses and webinars

The City of Venice announced the launch of a new pilot project called ‘Made OnLife – in Venice’, which will be carried out in partnership with Facebook and Fondazione Mondo Digitale, with the main objective of boosting the digital communication skills of local small and medium enterprises. This, in the opinion, of the organizers, will not only make the beneficiaries more competitive on the global tourist market but it will also allow them to gain confidence through the experimentation with new communication models.

Global travellers are highly literate in the use of digital platforms, so it is time for SMEs to catch up

Venice is highly reliant on tourism for its economy, so it is no surprise that many of the local smaller enterprises are directly or indirectly involved in that sector, which in turn has suffered greatly during the COVID pandemic. Yet many of them remain somewhat unaware of the possibilities that social media channels present for promotion – one might say the digital divide is also a problem in much of the SME sector there.

“We are proud of joining this project that stems from a common interest and objective," said Angelo Mazzetti, head of institutional relations of Facebook Italy, adding: "We want to focus our commitment on the sectors most affected by the pandemic, such as crafts, tourism and culture, fundamental sectors for the economy of Venice and Mestre, a territory that hosts numerous excellences. We believe that the project can represent a further message to underline the importance of digital transformation for economic recovery and to overcome the current barriers and limits in a period in which consumption and purchasing patterns have radically changed”.

For the purpose, what the initiative will freely offer any willing participants from the sector is the following:

• On-demand video lessons: These will be freely accessible at any time, without registration and will let users into the ins and outs of social networks;
• 2 interactive webinars: For those who already feel up to date on the basics of social media, the webinars (which will require registration, 100 participants per session) will offer more in-depth insights to building a solid online presence and sustaining your community of followers. One of the webinars will teach ‘basic’ skills and the other ‘advanced’;
• ‘Pro’ webinar: This one will only be available to three enterprises, which will be specially selected after having completed the ‘advanced’ webinar and the consequent test of knowledge after it.

Taken altogether all the courses represent an ascending knowledge ladder, which can be freely accessed and is available to all in order to encourage acquiring higher digital literacy for a more resistant tourism sector.