The Digital Youth Work – Rights-sensitive, Open, Accessible, Democratic (DIYW-ROAD) project’s final activity took us to Brussels between June 29 and July 1, 2026. This is where the General Assembly of the LLLP—the European platform for lifelong learning, of which DARE is a member—took place. The focus was on digitalisation.
In the High-Level Policy Debate at the European Parliament, policy-makers and civil society organisations gathered to discuss the implications of AI in education and training. The event was hosted by MEP Victor Negrescu.
Policy Roundtable: Digitality, Education and Youth Work in the EU
On July 1, the roundtable on key challenges, findings, European policy linkages, and recommendations, organised by DARE, took place. At the event, the DIYW-ROAD project presented its policy recommendations and discussed them with advocacy experts in the fields of education and civil society.
- Better regulation of online platforms and consistent implementation of measures to protect young people (and all Europeans), to strengthen a peaceful, pluralistic, and open infosphere on social media, and to promote the use of AI in education and society should be a priority—but it is not at present.
- In line with our project goals, it is important to learn from the past. So we need to more consistently embed reflective and critical thinking about digital services, platforms, and AI into our conceptions of digital literacy.
- We should align AI and technology in education with pedagogical goals, the goals of democratic digitalisation, and digital sovereignty—and “invest” in them rather than simply “spend” money on them. In other words, we need new, more decentralized European approaches instead of becoming dependent on monopolists or naively spending money on “more” edtech AI.
Finalisation of the DIYW-ROAD project
With this final partner meeting, the project has now come to an end. However, DARE network and the other DIYW-ROAD partners Arbeitskreis deutscher Bildungsstätten, Fundacion CIVES, Sozialprofil, Partners Bulgaria Foundation and dinamo will continue to work on the topic of digital citizenship education. After all, there is much to be done, especially in the areas of Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education.
