by Villano Qiriazi, Council of Europe.
Stepping up efforts to strengthen the implementation of digital citizenship education: the European Year of Digital Citizenship Education 2025
In today’s world, our lives are closely linked to digital technologies. Whether it is through the use of mobile phones, tablets, computers or wireless technologies, most of our activities are now supported by digital technologies that, on one hand, are of enormous help, but on the other hand, they entail potential risks including data privacy breaches, the risks of encountering hate speech and being a victim of cyberbullying.
Digital Citizenship Education
At the Council of Europe Education Department, we launched some years ago the Digital Citizenship Education Project with the aim of identifying the competences (including skills, values, attitudes and knowledge) that are necessary for students as active citizens to safely and effectively navigate the digital environment. Building on the Council of Europe’s Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (RFCDC), the aim was to identify the competences within the Reference Framework applicable to the digital environment that would guide member states in the development of related curricula, assessment and pedagogical methodologies.
As a result of this endevour, 10 digital domains were identified under three umbrellas: Being online, Well-being online and Rights online. To ensure that digital citizenship education is implemented across Europe, we developed targeted materials for policy makers, educators, learners, parents and carers.
The European Year of Digital Citizenship Education 2025
During the 26th session of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education held in Strasbourg in September 2023, the member states of the Council of Europe considered Digital Citizenship Education as one of their priorities and designated 2025 as the European Year of Digital Citizenship Education reaffirming the importance of equipping students as digital citizens with key skills, values, attitudes and knowledge.
The Year has a strong awareness-raising component in highlighting the importance of digital citizenship education for today’s European societies. Digital citizenship education through the development of key competences helps build inclusive and democratic societies, where citizens both online and offline know how to engage and participate in their communities, protect their own rights, respect the rights of others and the rule of law, and in this way, help renew democracies through their engaged participation.
The Year is a unique opportunity to step up cooperation with all relevant stakeholders at the local, national and international level and at the same time to support capacity development, the sharing of sense-making practices from member states, civil society, youth-led organisations, the private sector, academia and the media.
The Year is also a way to encourage the mainstreaming of digital citizenship education through formal, non-formal and informal education and to strengthen its implementation.
The Council of Europe will organise key conferences and events throughout the Year and will coordinate with Ministries of Education, partners and stakeholders to expand the Year’s outreach.
A dedicated website and a campaign toolkit including posters, cards, visuals for social media and other visibility items will be developed.
The key events include:
- On 23-24 January 2025, Launching Conference of the European Year of Digital Citizenship Education 2025, Strasbourg
- On 27-28 May 2025, Digital Citizenship Education Forum, Strasbourg
- 18-19 November 2025, Digital Citizenship Education – The Way Forward, Ljubljana, Slovenia
We encourage all the educators, learners, academics, members of the private sector and of youth-led organisations to join this initiative and to help us step up efforts to raise awareness of the importance of implementing digital citizenship education across Europe.
For more information about the European Year, please visit: European Year webpage
Villano Qiriazi, Head of the Department of Education, Council of Europe
