"This conference was a true acknowledgment that digital rights are human rights as well, and should be treated and respected with the same seriousness. At the same time, it highlighted the importance of having youth at the table when discussing themes that affect our lives and rights. We are more than just the future, we are the present and our inputs are essential to proper decision-making processes.
We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to take part in the Octopus Conference 2025, to contribute to these discussions, and to connect with such a diverse range of stakeholders. We hope next editions expand the much needed youth presence and meaningful participation!"
Eman Borg, Mohammad Saad Tligui, Teresa Castro
Former participants of the HEY course on Media and Information Literacy
Held every 12 to 18 months by the Council of Europe, the Octopus Conference constitutes one of the biggest and finest platforms of exchange in cybercrime gathering experts from more than 100 countries, international organisations, private sector and academia.
The conference provides an opportunity to interface for cybercrime experts from public and private sectors as well as international and non-governmental organisations from all over the world. High-level interventions are envisaged.
In this 2025 edition, which took place in Strasbourg from 4 to 6 June, the conference included a presentation of the HEY programme, developed by the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe, and 3 young participants from the first edition of the HEY course on Media and Information Literacy were selected to contribute to the discussions and continue their learning journey.
They were asked to share some words about their experience.
A Portuguese, a Moroccan, and a Maltese walk into Strasbourg…
What started as an innocent enrolment in an online course quickly turned into something much greater. Eman Borg (Malta), Mohammad Saad Tligui (Morocco), and Teresa Castro (Portugal) first met during the first edition of the HEY (Human Rights Education for Youth) course on Media and Information Literacy from the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe. A few months later, they found themselves reunited as youth delegates at the Octopus Conference 2025, one of the leading international platforms for discussion on cybercrime, organised by the Council of Europe in cooperation with the Maltese Presidency of the Committee of Ministers.
More than a course
Our journey actually started much earlier, in March 2025, when we began the HEY course. This programme combine formal legal knowledge with non-formal global education to build youth leadership and promote civic engagement, empowering young people in human rights issues through tutor-led online courses.
This course was much more than the usual passive “video-watching” e-learning experiences we had before: it allowed us to develop our leadership skills and gain competencies on how to actively contribute to our communities. The learning methods were highly interactive, including practical exercises, group discussions, debates, creative activities, and quizzes.
Cybercrime = Democracy Crisis
Recognising our commitment and participation, we were offered the possibility to attend the Octopus Conference 2025.
In his opening remarks, Secretary General of the Council of Europe Alain Berset, pointed out that cybercrime is now posing a real threat to democracy. It was eye-opening to hear that Microsoft detects over 600 million cyberattacks daily, and the political implications of the misinformation campaigns in Moldova and Romania, or the malware attacks during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Throughout the day, it became evident to us how we play a critical role in these conversations, especially when Maltese Minister of Justice Jonathan Attard stressed the importance of engaging all society in the fight against cybercrime, explicitly naming young people as key actors!
Youth and Cybercrime
The first day also featured a workshop on "Youth and Cybercrime: Engagement, Challenges, and Solutions", and we couldn’t miss it. It focused on young people's vital role both in preventing cybercrime and cyberviolence, and as potential targets/perpetrators in the digital space. It provided a platform for voices from different regions to share their views on digital rights, responsibilities, and strategies when tackling this issue.
Education as prevention
During this session, one of the speakers, Houda Cherif, Senior Project Officer at the Council of Europe, presented the HEY programme as a concrete example of how education can be a powerful tool for prevention. During our course, we not only explored these topics, but we even created videos about cyberviolence, "by youth for youth", one of which was showcased to the audience.
From the rest of the session, we took away three core messages:
- Criminalizing minors is not the solution for addressing young-driven cyberviolence or cybercrime
- We must invest in education, not only for youth but also for those who educate and work with them
- Meaningful youth engagement/leadership of youth is essential to design effective responses to these problems.
From HEY to Hammamet
Beyond the knowledge it gave us, the HEY programme provided a platform to connect with peers from across borders, exchange perspectives, and think about future collective actions.
And our engagement doesn’t stop here!: we were also selected to participate in the upcoming Training of Trainers from the North-South Centre from the Council of Europe in Hammamet, Tunisia, next month. The goal is to form youth that can act as multipliers, further disseminating the information, and adapting it to our local contexts.
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