Active Digital Citizenship for resilient Students and Volunteers

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What is Active Digital Citizenship for resilient Students and Volunteers?

Active Digital Citizenship in the context of AFS and EFIL is a multifaceted approach to navigating our increasingly digitized world. It involves empowering youth and volunteers to not only use technology effectively but to do so with a focus on human rights, social justice, and intercultural understanding. This necessitates fostering digital well-being, practicing critical inquiry toward online information, and building empathetic, inclusive communities across digital divides. By providing volunteers with the tools to be responsible digital creators and consumers, we ensure the continued resilience and relevance of our volunteer-based youth work.

Which challenges are we addressing?

The 2026 theme addresses several key challenges identified within our network that impact how volunteers engage in a digital society. These issues can limit the potential of youth to act as global citizens in online spaces. Specifically, the challenges include:

  • Digital Exclusion and Inequality: Addressing the barriers to equitable access and ensuring that digital spaces are inclusive for all volunteers.
  • Proliferation of Disinformation: Combating the lack of critical media literacy skills needed to navigate “fake news” and protect data privacy.
  • Digital Burnout and Mental Health: Mitigating the negative impacts of constant connectivity on the emotional and social well-being of young volunteers.
  • Erosion of Empathy Online: Overcoming the “digital divide” in communication styles and de-escalating conflicts in polarized online environments.

By focusing on these areas, VSS 2026 seeks to equip our community to be safe, ethical, and impactful leaders in the digital era.

Why focus on Digital Citizenship?

Focusing on Digital Citizenship at VSS 2026 aligns our network with the evolving digital realities of the youth we serve. As volunteering and intercultural exchange move increasingly online, it is vital to ensure these spaces remain democratic and safe. This theme serves to highlight the importance of digital literacy as a core competency for active global citizenship, ensuring that our volunteers can advocate for digital rights and collective well-being.

Which topics will we cover? 

To help us tackle this broad subject, we have narrowed our focus into four thematic tracks aligned with the Council of Europe (CoE) Digital Citizenship Education dimensions:

Inclusive Digital Belonging (IDB):

  • Main focus: Promoting digital inclusion, accessibility, and ethical online communities.
  • Subtopics:
    • Workshops on digital inclusion and accessibility (CoE Dimension 1).
    • Methods for fostering safe and ethical online communities (CoE Dimension 4).
    • Promoting digital rights and responsibilities to ensure equitable access (CoE Dimension 8).

Critical Media Literacy (CML): 

  • Main focus: Supporting youth to identify disinformation and navigate the digital media landscape responsibly.
  • Subtopics:
    • Advanced Media and Information Literacy (MIL) skills (CoE Dimension 3).
    • Utilizing critical inquiry tools for data protection and misinformation.
    • Empowering volunteers to be responsible creators of digital content.

Digital Empathy & Connection (DEC): 

  • Main focus: Fostering intercultural communication and empathy across digital platforms.
  • Subtopics:
    • Exploring dynamics of e-Presence and digital identity (CoE Dimension 6).
    • Techniques for effective online intercultural communication.
    • Managing and de-escalating conflicts in digital spaces.
    • Practicing digital empathy to understand differing perspectives.

Collective Digital Well-being (CDW): 

  • Main focus: Utilizing digital tools for civic mobilization while safeguarding mental health.
  • Subtopics:
    • Mitigating digital burnout and promoting mental health (CoE Dimension 5).
    • Using digital platforms for active participation and civic mobilization (CoE Dimension 7).
    • Understanding privacy and security best practices to protect volunteer efforts (CoE Dimension 9).

Each track addresses the topic in its own way, and every workshop is linked to at least one track. Our trainers have designed sessions that blend new digital competencies with the established values of AFS and EFIL.