International Day of Education: discover projects funded under DIGITAL supporting digital skills and youth participation

The International Day of Education, celebrated on 24 January, serves as UNESCO's call to acknowledge the important role of education in fostering peace and development. This year's theme, "The power of youth in co-creating education," emphasises the importance of youth in driving sustainable development, innovation, and social transformation. Young people under 30 face challenges such as poverty, inequality, and limited access to quality education and employment. This is especially significant considering that they represent more than half of the global population.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with its focus on Goal 4, aims for "inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all" by 2030. At the forefront of these efforts is the EU's Digital Education Action Plan (2021-2027), which enhances digital literacy and builds resilient, inclusive education systems. The Youth Declaration on Transforming Education highlights young people's role in improving educational access during crises, aligning with the EU strategy to empower youth and advance digitally competent, inclusive learning environments.

HaDEA, through the Digital Europe Programme, has funded several initiatives that support education, with a particular emphasis on digital skills and youth participation. Here are a few standout examples worth exploring:

• The Code4Europe project (budget: €6 million, fully funded by the EU) unites 45 partners from 20 countries to boost digital education and skills across Europe, focusing on youth empowerment through the EU Code Week initiative. This dynamic grassroots movement invites people of all ages to explore coding, creativity, and problem-solving, making digital skills more accessible and inclusive. From classrooms to community spaces, it fosters collaboration among educators, students, and tech enthusiasts by breaking down barriers and debunking stereotypes, particularly targeting the confidence gaps of girls and young women in digital fields. Although the project includes a wide variety of activities, two examples are highlighted here:
  • EU Code Week Hackathons are designed for young participants, offering them a platform to collaborate, learn, and showcase their talents in coding and problem-solving. These events inspire youth by engaging them in creative and innovative projects, helping them develop their skills and connect with like-minded peers, fostering community and empowerment.
  • Girls in Digital (GiD) is an EU Code Week initiative focused on empowering girls and young women to explore digital skills and technology careers, promoting gender equality. Through 422 workshops and sessions, the project has reached 10 523 girls, encouraging them to excel in STEM fields.
• Young digital users are often highly skilled at leveraging the internet and digital technologies, yet they are also the ones most vulnerable when it comes to the online risks. The network of Safer Internet Centres (SICs) - co-funded under the Digital Europe Programme and currently covering EU countries, Norway, Albania and North-Macedonia - aims to raise awareness about online safety issues and to mitigate the risks children and young people are exposed to. SICs often cooperate closely with schools and offer presentations, support to pupils, parents and teachers.  The range of resources and tools offered by SICs is diverse, spanning both the online and the offline, including educational materials, webinars, podcasts and communication campaigns. In addition, many SICs do research, conduct surveys, and publish reports on various topics related to online safety in order to understand the challenges and educate their target audience better. Moreover, they foster cooperation, with a particular focus on encouraging the participation of young people via peer-to-peer activities and national youth advisory boards. 

Background information

The Digital Europe Programme aims to build the EU’s strategic digital capacities and facilitate the deployment of digital technologies. With an overall budget of €7.5 billion, of which €0.8 billion is managed by HADEA, the programme supports investments in high performance computing, cloud, data, and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, advanced digital skills, and accelerating best use of technologies.

The network of Safer Internet Centres (SICs), co-funded under the Digital Europe Programme, aims to raise awareness about online safety issues and to mitigate the risks children and young people are exposed to. More information about Safer Internet Centres - the "Safer Internet" factsheet.