Open badges
Open badges are digital proof of something you have learned. This page explains what they are, how they work, and how you can earn one with DIVETOUR2. You need no technical knowledge to follow it.
What is an open badge?
Think of a badge you can earn at school, in a sports club, or in a scout group. An open badge works in the same way, only it lives online. Cedefop, the European agency for vocational training, calls a digital badge a validated visual record of a learning experience.
That learning experience can be a course, a seminar, or a workshop. It can also be a set of skills that you proved in another way. Some badges come with a formal certificate, and others do not.
The word open matters here. A digital badge becomes an open badge when its content is verifiable and portable. In plain words: anyone can check it, and you can take it anywhere.
What is inside an open badge?
The image is only the visible part. Behind it sits a small record, called metadata, that travels with the badge wherever it goes.
Here what the record inside an open badge contains:
Who earned it
Your name or your verified email address, so the badge clearly belongs to you.
Who issued it
The school, project, or organisation behind the award.
What it stands for
The learning content and the learning outcomes.
What you had to do
The assessment criteria, for example finishing five modules and passing the exercises.
When it was issued
The issue date, plus an expiry date when the issuer sets one.
Proof of the work
Links to evidence, such as a completed exercise or a project.
How can someone check that a badge is real?
Anyone who receives your badge can click it. A verification page then opens on the platform that issued the badge. It shows the same record, straight from the source.
Because of that link, saving the picture is not enough to fake a badge. A copied image leads nowhere, while a real badge leads back to its issuer.
Where can you show your open badges?
A badge only helps when people see it. You can add yours to:
- your LinkedIn profile and other social media
- your email signature
- your CV, your portfolio, or your personal website
- a digital badge wallet, which keeps all your badges in one place
- applications for jobs, internships, or further courses
A badge wallet is simply a free online account for storing badges. Most badge platforms offer one when you claim your first badge.
Why open badges are useful for students
A diploma says where you studied. A badge says what you can actually do. For a young person with a short work history, that difference counts.
Employers in tourism read profiles quickly. So a clear, clickable badge helps you stand out, especially for skills that rarely appear on a school report. Inclusive communication and responsible use of AI are two good examples.
Why open badges are useful for teachers, trainers and tutors
Badges give you a simple way to recognise progress. You can award one for a full course, or for a single competence inside it.
They also make learning outcomes visible. Because the criteria sit inside the badge, learners, families and employers see exactly what the holder did to earn it.
In addition, badges motivate. Learners get a clear goal, then a clear reward, and they can show that reward outside the classroom.
Open badges and European micro-credentials
A micro-credential is an official record of a short learning experience. The European Union supports micro-credentials, so that short courses count in careers and in education systems.
Open badges fit this approach well. After all, they already store the criteria, the outcomes, and the name of the issuer in one place. The three DIVETOUR2 badges follow the same logic.
The three DIVETOUR2 open badges
DIVETOUR2 offers three open badges.
Two of them cover one learning path each, while the third rewards the full journey.
Open Badge: DEI Specialist
This badge covers diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in tourism. You earn it by completing five learning pills and the exercises that go with them.
Open Badge: AI Explorer
This badge covers generative AI. You learn how the technology works, how to write good prompts, and how to spot errors and bias. Five learning pills lead to it.
Open Badge: DIVETOUR2 Champion
This is the highest recognition in the project. It goes to learners who finish both paths: ten learning pills and ten interactive exercises in total.
How to earn your badge, step by step
A badge only helps when people see it. You can add yours to:
- Open the materiali di formazione section of this website.
- Choose your path: the course on DEI and GenAI, the course on AI, or both.
- Work through the learning pills at your own pace.
- Complete the interactive exercises in each module.
- Claim your badge, then share it wherever you like.
New terms along the way? The project glossario explains them in short entries.
Questions people often ask
Do I need technical skills to use an open badge?
No. If you can send an email or post a photo online, you can use a badge.
Do the DIVETOUR2 badges cost anything?
No. The European Union funds the project, so the courses and the badges stay free for learners.
Is an open badge the same as a diploma?
No. A diploma comes from a formal education system, while a badge records a short course or a specific skill. The two work well side by side.
Can a badge expire?
Sometimes. An issuer may set an expiry date, for example when a skill needs regular updating. The badge always shows that date in its record.
What happens if I change school or job?
Your badge stays yours. Because it is portable, you keep it in your own wallet and take it with you.
Can someone copy my badge?
Anyone can copy the picture, yet the verified record stays linked to you. Verification is what gives a badge its value.
Where these definitions come from
Two international sources back the definitions on this page: