A comprehensive Training Kit on Digital Citizenship Education in Youth Work officially launched!

After many hard working months and countless consultations with youth workers, project partners and external benefactors, we are proud to announce the release of our Training Kit on Digital Citizenship Education in Youth Work, a practical and forward-looking resource designed to empower youth workers and youth organisations to support young people in becoming active, responsible and resilient digital citizens.

Developed within the framework of the Pathway to Digital Citizenship Education project and supported by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, the Training Kit responds to a growing need: helping young people navigate an increasingly digital world while upholding democratic values, human rights and inclusion.

Why this Training kit matters?

Today, young people participate in society not only offline but online – through social media campaigns, digital activism, online consultations, e-petitions and digital storytelling. Being a citizen in the 21st century means understanding how to engage ethically, critically and safely in digital spaces.

Our Training Kit supports youth workers in:

• Promoting media and information literacy;
• Strengthening digital resilience and wellbeing;
• Encouraging ethical online behaviour and empathy;
• Supporting inclusive digital participation;
• Connecting digital skills to democratic engagement.

What is in the Training kit? 

The publication offers a structured yet practical approach, combining theory, policy context and hands-on tools. It includes:

• Clear explanations of digital citizenship (education) and its connection to democracy and youth work;
• An overview of European and international policy frameworks supporting digital citizenship;
• Insights into digital youth work practices;
• Guidance on supporting young people with fewer opportunities in accessing and benefiting from digital participation;
• A dedicated Framework for Digital Citizenship Education Competences for Youth Workers (DCEC), aligned with democratic values and human rights;
• A collection of ready-to-use non-formal education activities, including: “Click the Bait!” (understanding disinformation and clickbait), “Digital Participation Taboo”, “Digital Privacy and Security”, “Digital Debate – Is Online Activism Enough?”, “Immersive Journey into Digital Citizenship”.

These tools help youth workers translate complex digital topics into engaging and participatory learning experiences.

Supporting youth workers as change-makers

Youth workers play a pivotal role in bridging the gap between young people and democratic institutions. The Training Kit equips them not only with knowledge, but also with practical methods to facilitate critical thinking and dialogue, foster inclusive digital spaces, promote rights-based digital education and strengthen young people’s active participation both online and offline.

By grounding digital education in democratic culture and human rights, the Training Kit ensures that digital citizenship is not reduced to technical skills alone – but understood as a cornerstone of modern civic life.

Open access and collaborative spirit

The Training Kit is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, encouraging organisations, educators and youth workers to adapt and use the materials for non-commercial purposes. It is available in English, Serbian, Greek, Croatian and Portuguese.

—

Project “Pathway to Digital Citizenship Education” aims to empower youth workers with the skills and tools needed to help young people navigate the digital world critically, responsibly and safely. The project is implemented by a consortium of youth organisations from Serbia (Foundation Arka), Croatia (Udruga Delta), Portugal (Red Cross Braga) and Greece (Innovation Hive) with the support of the Erasmus+ Programme. It started on 1 April 2025 and will last for 18 months.