The central days of the 25th University on Youth and Development (UYD) gave participants an opportunity to explore this year’s theme in practical ways through a series of interactive workshops based on non-formal education methodologies. Organised as part of the joint Programme implemented by the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe, five sessions across two learning journeys enabled young people to engage directly with experts, work through concrete situations and exchange perspectives with their peers.

The first session looked at changes in the digital environment and how youth organisations can navigate them. During the first public presentation of the Digital Strategy of the Spanish National Agency for Erasmus+ Youth and Sports and the European Solidarity Corps, Ana Cuevas, Head of the European Programmes Area at INJUVE, presented its main objectives, implementation phases and expected impact on youth and educational organisations. She also explained how artificial intelligence is already being used within the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes, while inviting organisations to consider the criteria they should apply before integrating AI into their own projects.

Understanding the opportunities offered by technology also means being able to recognise its risks. During a workshop on combating cybercrime and digital harm, Deputy Inspector Jose Martinez Marin of the Murcia local police department invited participants to work through six scenarios based on real cases: phishing, AI-generated imagery targeting schools, audio and video deepfakes used in hate crimes, and ransomware attacks. Divided into six groups, participants brought experiences and perspectives from different legal systems and digital contexts. The discussions nevertheless showed their ability to address complex situations and work together to identify appropriate responses.

Participants were invited to move towards a better understanding of the technology itself. Using the AUTOMA manual, Beatriz Melo from the Youth Department of the Council of Europe introduced a resource for educators. The manual aims to develop the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values young people need to understand artificial intelligence systems and engage with them critically. Participants were able to discover the tool and experiment with it themselves, combining non-formal education with human rights education. The aim is to provide educators with a flexible resource that combines educational activities with an understanding of the technological dimension of AI, contributing to the development of AI literacy among young people.

The discussions also moved beyond technology itself to explore peace and how it can be built in everyday life. Outdoors, Tobias Drilling from the Advisory Council on Youth of the Council of Europe led a session on the Council of Europe’s Recommendation on Peace Education. Participants were invited to translate policy language into handcrafted artworks, opening a reflection on the place of peacebuilding in everyday life, both in physical and digital spaces. “It does not really matter whether we are in the digital or in the physical space,” Tobias Drilling explained. One participant gave a tangible form to this reflection by creating a broken heart out of cardboard and stitching it back together with a piece of rope. “I did this because I believe policy can stitch broken hearts,” she said.

Today, participants were invited to bring these different dimensions together around one central question: how can they become actors for responsible use of artificial intelligence? During the “Understand, Detect, Govern, Act: Youth Leadership for Responsible AI” workshop, Maria Amparo Alonso Escobar of Ethical Artificial Intelligence for Human Development (EAiD) invited participants to examine the visual cues that can help identify digitally manipulated content. The discussion connected with their everyday experiences online. 

Participants also brought examples from their own national contexts. A participant from Nigeria recalled deepfakes that circulated during the 2022 elections and were mistaken for authentic footage, prompting a discussion about the responsibility of platforms for the content they host. A participant from Moldova highlighted efforts by platforms such as YouTube and Instagram to detect and label AI-generated content. A participant from Greece, meanwhile, stressed the importance of checking sources and questioning information circulated without clear attribution.

Across the workshops, a common thread gradually emerged: being informed is not enough; information needs to be turned into knowledge, and knowledge into the ability to act. “I can’t wait to tell my parents about all this,” several participants said after the session. Their reaction illustrates one of the aims of these learning spaces: to help young people better understand the technologies shaping their everyday lives, identify both their risks and opportunities, and see themselves as actors capable of contributing to more responsible digital environments and more peaceful societies.

Organised as part of iLEGEND III (Intercultural Learning Exchange through Global Education, Networking and Dialogue), the third cycle of a joint project of the European Union and the Council of Europe: co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe, the UYD is implemented by the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe, with support from the Spanish Institute of Youth (INJUVE) and the Euro-Latin American Youth Centre (CEULAJ).