The first-ever Digital Citizenship Education Forum organised by the Council of Europe’s Education Department was held in Strasbourg on 27-28 May 2025 within the framework of the European Year of Digital Citizenship Education 2025.
Over 200 contributors from more than 30 countries including government representatives, education practitioners, learners, civil society organisations, private sector and academia discussed ways to co-operate to achieve common goals and a shared vision for the current and future digital citizenship education landscape.
“Today celebrates the power of partnerships forging new paths for living together in a digital enriched world”, emphasised Ms Marja Ruotanen, Director General for Democracy and Human Dignity, Council of Europe, opening the Forum. “Education and democracy go hand in hand. The Council of Europe through the European Year 2025 is uniting Europe once again through our values”, Ms Ruotanen further highlighted.
Ambassador Francesca Camilleri Vettiger, Permanent Representation of the Republic of Malta to the Council of Europe, Ambassador Tanja Gonggrijp, Permanent Representation of the Netherlands to the Council of Europe and Ambassador Pap N’Diaye, Permanent Representation of France to the Council of Europe also delivered welcome speeches. Ms Mevan Babakar from Google addressed the audience delivering a keynote speech.
The Forum aimed at stepping up efforts in the implementation of digital citizenship education across Europe through fostering partnerships and co-operation, showcasing good practices and relevant resources, highlighting how digital citizenship education helps address the current challenges and contributes to regenerating democracies through citizenship empowerment.
Through Forum Talks and plenary sessions, the participants had the opportunity to explore the multiple dimensions of digital citizenship education. Topics discussed included the interlinkages between education and democracy, the role of private technology companies in promoting citizenship, tackling online disinformation and fostering inclusive and accessible digital communities.
Furthermore, the DCE Resources Showcase located in the Foyer of the Hemicycle, gave the spotlight to the digital citizenship education resources shared by civil society organisations, technology companies and academia.
In this context, the “DCE Planner”, a curriculum framework for digital citizenship education, developed by the Council of Europe’s Education Department, was officially launched. The DCE Planner is a useful tool to integrate digital citizenship education into any school programme. Featuring 320 examples of learning outcomes, arranged by age group and digital domain, the DCE Planner can be used by a wide range of education professionals including teachers, school leaders, teacher educators, administrators and policy makers.
During the closing session of the conference, the main outcomes of the Forum were outlined taking into consideration suggested actions and key inputs from the participants which will inform the forthcoming Road Map for strengthening digital citizenship education (2027-2031).
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